Indecision: Heart of the Seireitei
by Tongue-tiedWithSilverLies
Summary: Our favorite Bleach characters get a strong dose of insanity when two crazy human girls suddenly get sucked into their world by a defective computer. As time wears on, hell and hilarity ensue. Pairings: HitsuXOC, GinXOC, others if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

Authoress' Note: This fanfiction is written by both Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords and Moonwhisper22. First of all, we are deeply sorry for the presence of OCs in this fanfic. We were extremely bored, so please just read anyway. X3 Also, the first few chapters have a lack of plot bunnies, but we put in an order and they should arrive soon.

Lastly, the OC by the name of Kazoku has only seen the first few episodes as of the first chapter (as well as too many spoilers to count thanks to a certain person who didn't realize that Kazoku would actually watch the show *cough*Umino*cough*)

This fanfic might have instances of major cheese of the Parmesan and cheddar variety. Please bear with us here.

Anyway, that's pretty much it. We do not own Bleach in any way, shape, or form. If we did... Never mind, you don't need to know what we'd do. X3

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Indecision: Heart of the Seireitei

Prologue

School was relatively uneventful, as it was every other day. Morning classes were over with and out of mind, the usual morning haze that drifted over the students had dissipated, and the need to settle the raging stomachs that erupted with protest throughout early day class time was slowly receding as the high school lunch period wore on. All and all, it was a completely normal day at school.

Well, if you consider watching two girls chasing each other around the cafeteria armed with sprifaws(1) (not sporks, mind you) and screaming about some Japanese anime show normal. If that's not your normal, then it makes this all the more hilarious. However, this was the norm for those students witnessing the current pursuit that wove between the lunch tables.

"How dare you insult Byakuya!" shouted the short, dark-haired girl being the 'chaser' at the moment. Her brown chin length hair, usually mistaken for black from a distance, featured red tips and choppy layers for the bangs, and longer hair that was tied into a braid and secured with a red ribbon. She growled, her glasses glinting in anger, obscuring her brown eyes while her sharp canine teeth were revealed. The other girl just giggled childishly.

"Would you rather I make fun of your precious_ Shiro-kun_?" teased the taller girl, a.k.a the 'chasee'. She giggled again, her bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Her curly light brown hair swayed behind her as she ran away playfully.

"Don't you dare, and take back what you said about Bya-kun or I swear I will stab you repeatedly with the end of this sprifaw!"

"I have no fear of your sprifaw, for it is no match for mine!"

"Take it back or I'll be forced to torture you about your resemblance to Orihime, especially in the chest area!" threatened the short glasses girl.

The giggling girl's happy expression immediately fell from her face, only to be replaced by a look of resentment. She stopped dead in her tracks as if someone had pressed a pause button and slowly turned around.

"You said what now?" She hissed menacingly.

"I believe I said something along the lines of 'endlessly torturing you by reminding you of your HUGE resemblance to Orihime," The shorter girl answered, smirking.

"My sprifaw shall make you rue this day Akadoragon!" The now angry girl cried with fury in her eyes, brandishing her so-called weapon.

"Oh crap, everyone flee from the chibi terror that is Karasukami!" Umino shrieked sarcastically, turning to run from the angry girl. Unfortunately, before the chase could continue once more, Miss Kisei's(2) authorative voice rang through the cafeteria.

"Akadoragon! Karasukami! Come over here, NOW!"

"Oh no..." squeaked Kazoku. Her left hand immediately rose to take hold of the blue streak that ran down the left side of her head. She began twisting it nervously as their sensei crooked a finger at them from across the cafeteria.

"Calm down Kazoku, she won't yell at us that much. I mean, come on, after the first fifty-million 'incidents' she knows that it does no good to reprimand us with a long-winded lecture. Mainly because we wouldn't take it into account anyways," said Umino exasperatedly while doing the signature move of anime glasses characters: pushing her glasses up so that the light shines on them. "Betcha she just gives us a warning and threats of ISS."

"Are you sure?" The younger girl sounded uncertain.

"Positive. She stopped trying to give us an actual punishment when we decided to turn detention into recess. Now come on." Umino walked forward, disregarding the eyes that rolled in their direction as they passed by. Kazoku shrunk under the stares, slipping her hands into her pockets so as not to wring them in the embarrassment that followed after every said incident took place. While both girls didn't mind making fools of themselves occasionally, only Umino could come out of it without feeling as if she did something wrong.

After following Miss Kisei to the office and receiving the usual lecture and disapproving glances, they returned to class and school continued normally. We swear!

Finally, after hours of torturous textbooks and glaring computer screens, the final bell of the day rang and all of the students rushed out of their classrooms. Well, all but two students, who were currently catching up on a project in the computer lab. Umino and Kazoku, to be exact.

"I don't wanna do this... It feels like detention... "Kazoku mumbled, stretching her arms over her head before folding them behind the back of her chair.

"But it isn't."Umino answered as she sat down. She set a packet of papers down in front of her project partner, ignoring the whine that arose at the action. "I told you we wouldn't get in trouble."

"I was sure she was gonna snap this time!"

"I think you're overreacting."

"I am not. She eats children and she was going to gut us like fish."

"Whatever. Anyway, we only have a little bit left to do on our history project, so let's just get it done and go home." said Umino, sitting in front of one of the new computers. There was some kind of engraving in the corner of the computer monitor that caught Kazoku's attention. She leaned forward and tilted her head.

"Hey, Umi-chan, what do you think that says?"

"Who knows, who cares. Probably the previous owner or something."

"Ma... YuriK?" Kazoku spoke aloud, tilting her head. "What the heck does that mean?"

"I dunno." Umino answered, switching the computer on. ""Sounds like a World of Warcraft name."

"Yuck..." Kazoku said, sticking her tongue out.

"Pfft, what are you complaining about? You play Pirates of the Caribbean." Umino pointed out, smirking.

"So? WoW is different. It's pointless and has no educational value."

"And Pirates does?"

"Of course. It sharpens the strategic mind."

"That's why you have so much success with keeping your thoughts in check, right?"

"Of course! Wait... Was that an insult?"

"No, of course not."

"Liar."

"Why do you play those games anyway? They're stupid."

"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Wizard101."

"Hey, I haven't played that in months! Besides, it's addicting! You try it sometime, instead of turning your nose up. I bet you anything that you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen by the time you reach level five."

"Lies, all lies."

Kazoku's attention was then diverted and whatever comeback Umino had fell on deaf ears. "Oooh... Umi-chan, lookie. Sparkles..." Kazoku moved the computer mouse back and forth, sending the oddly sparkling cursor across the black screen. Umino raised an eyebrow behind her bangs as she examined the screen. The number twelve was in white lettering in the top right corner, and numerous folders ran down the left side. She read the folder labels as Kazoku continued rapidly moving the sparkling cursor around, which left a silver trail behind. 'Quincy... Arrancar... Bounto...' she read. Her eyes widened at the familiarity of the words. She glanced at the monitor's label. 'Wait... MayuriK... Mayuri K.!'

"Kazoku, get away from the computer!"

Kazoku looked over at her, confused, as the screen began to glow silver. Umino nearly tipped her chair backwards as she scrambled back, but Kazoku reached for the screen in curiosity. Her fingers passed through it. "Um... Umino... What..."she managed to say through her shock, trying to pull back, but her hand didn't budge. Her eyebrows furrowed. "What the heck is going on? Leggo of my hand, dang it!"

Umino face palmed as Kazoku started flailing, pulling frantically on her arm. Neither her arm nor the computer moved an inch. "It won't leggo!" she yelled, panicking. "Kazo-" "LEGGO!" Umino sighed and caught hold of her arm and yanked hard on it.

"Ow!"

"Quit whining."

"But you're going to yank my arm off!"

"Would you rather your body be dissected, drugged, and be reduced to a bloody carcass?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"Not important!"

Umino continued pulling on Kazoku's arm, but her efforts were in vain. Kazoku yelped as her arm was slowly pulled through the screen. "Umino, what did you do?" She yelled. "What did I do? You're the one who caused this!" Umino defended. "Well, you turned the computer on!" "Just shut up!"

Kazoku continued to panic as her arm disappeared beyond the glowing screen. Thin silver wisps snaked over her shoulder and wrapped around her chest, waist, and other arm. "What the heck!" She screeched as she was pulled even closer to the screen. The silver wisps stretched farther and surrounded Umino's arm, then spread. Both girls were flailing and spazzing out now, calling for help that didn't and wouldn't come. The silver glow from the screen enveloped them both, the room around them fading to white.

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(1) A sprifaw is a creation of Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords'. It is a combination of a spoon, a fork, a knife, and a straw. It is pronounced Spry-Fah. If you made the mistake of pronouncing it as Spriff-Fah, you will be repeatedly stabbed by one. We apologize, but it's a pet peeve of ours.

(2) Kisei, as far as we understand, means parasite. This is an accurate description of the person we based her off of, since, well, we don't really like her. X3


	2. Chapter 2

Authoress' Note: Chapter two! (Obviously…) We'd like to send a thank you to **daydreamer1008** who gave us our first review. So, yeah, thank you so very much, your review made our day. You win a virtual extreme double chocolate cupcake with rainbow frosting and sprinkles. X3

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Umino woke up face down in the dirt(1). Frowning, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she pushed herself up. Kazoku lay not far off, also face down. "Dammit…" Umino mumbled, looking around. Her eyes were met with the sight of a large baseball field outside what appeared to be a school building. The weather was bright and warm, contrary to the cloudy shadow that had been present outside when they had entered the computer lab. A group of girls were playing softball at the other end of the field, but other than that, the area was fairly empty. Umino stood and dusted herself off.

"Mnyah…" Kazoku grumbled, rolling onto her back. "Umi-chan, help me up…" she demanded childishly, holding her arms up. "Get up yourself." Umino answered, somewhat annoyed at the current situation. "But… But…" Kazoku spoke sadly, letting her eyes tear up and retaining her chibi-like face. Umino looked away. 'Don't look in her eyes, don't look in her eyes, dammit, don't look in her eyes!' She thought, but her gaze drifted back to Kazoku several times before she sighed. "Fine…" she mumbled, pulling Kazoku to her feet. The younger girl smiled and giggled sweetly. "Thank you Umi-chan!" Umino bit her lip, then let out an 'awww!' before hugging Kazoku. "Kawaii!"

"Lemme go!" Kazoku protested in her chibi voice. Umino reluctantly released her adorable friend. Said friend blinked a few times, looking around. "Where are we?" She questioned. "Because I'm pretty sure the computer lab doesn't have a giant building in it." She pointed to the school building. "Or a baseball field. Or grass."

"I'm not really-" Umino was cut off by someone yelling "heads up!" followed by a loud thud as a softball hit Kazoku in the side of the head. She cried out as she fell to the ground, her hands moving to cradle the spot. Umino's eyes widened before laughter erupted from her. Kazoku glared up at her with hurt, watery eyes. "I hate you." She whimpered, her expression causing Umino's laughter to fall short.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" They heard. Both girls looked towards the voice to see a busty orange-haired girl run up, followed by two other girls. One had short, choppy black hair and the other had dark red hair and glasses.

"Are you alright?" The orangette asked, kneeling beside Kazoku. The injured girl sat up slowly. Her eyes were still tearful. "I'm so sorry!" The girl repeated, embracing Kazoku who looked up, her eyes showing sudden confusion. Umino was staring at each of the strangers. She then looked down at her sister who gave a small shrug.

The black haired girl reached down and put a hand on Kazoku's head where she had been hit. Kazoku flinched, turning her head away. "Damn Orihime. You hit her pretty hard." The girl said, crossing her arms. Umino's head snapped up. "Ori… Orihime?" She said slowly. The orangette looked over. "Oh, silly me, I didn't introduce myself!" She let go of Kazoku and stood up. "I'm-" "Inoue Orihime." Umino finished. A perplexed look crossed the three strange girls' faces.

"Orihime, do you know them?" The black-haired girl asked, looking at the two new girls suspiciously.

"HIME-CHAN! You're not cheating on me with two other girls, are you?" yelled the dark red-haired girl worriedly.

"Oh no, it's not like that! You see… we, uh… wanted to learn the names of the students because… uh… we're new and we'll be in your class this year! Yeah!" Umino said, hurriedly coming up with an explanation. Kazoku gave her a quizzical look before standing.

"You look a little short." The black-haired girl commented, resting a hand on Umino's head. "You sure you're in the same class as us?" Light glinted off Umino's glasses and she glared up at the girl, then attempted to bite her hand. "Hey!" The girl snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Kazoku giggled in her usual chibi-like way, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "I'm guessing you're Tatsuki, right?" Kazoku asked, pointing. The dark-haired girl simply nodded. "And you… I think it was…" Kazoku continued, tapping her chin while looking at the redhead. "Umi-chan, what was her name again?"

"Chizuru."

"Yep, that's right, I'm Chizuru! So what's your name, my new princess?" leered Chizuru while she gave Kazoku one of her 'special' hugs from behind. "Oh, I think we're going to be great friends!" Of course, this action did not please Umino, or Tatsuki for that matter.

"Don't touch her!" yelled Umino in rage as she punched Chizuru, who ended up letting go of Kazoku and falling to the ground, clutching her face. However, as soon as she fell down, Tatsuki starlight-kicked(2) her so hard that she skidded across the field, bouncing almost all the way to the storage shed. At the same time Tatsuki yelled, "How many times do I have to beat your ass until you get it through your head that you aren't supposed to do that!"

Kazoku looked at Chizuru. "That was the les-"

"Yes Kazo-chan, yes it was." said Umino, shaking her head. Kazoku frowned, looking down at her chest. "I feel violated…"

"As you should." Umino said and glanced around the area, then shook her head. "This is impossible!"

"Don't worry; I'm sure it's just your imagination!" Kazoku said with a tiny giggle. Both Kazoku's and Umino's voices had taken on a British accent(3), causing them to receive strange looks from Tatsuki and Orihime.

"Umi-chan! Umi-chan!" Kazoku said suddenly, tugging on Umino's shirt. "Lookie! It's the Strawberry!" Kazoku was pointing toward the storage shed where Chizuru had landed. A teenage guy with orange hair and a permanent scowl on his face was nudging Chizuru with his foot, checking to see if she was dead or not. Standing next to him were three other guys. One looked as if he was of Mexican descent with dark brown hair that covered his similarly colored eyes. He had tanned skin and was extremely tall.

"Oh Kami! Ichigo, is she dead? She is dead, oh no we're gonna get blamed for this aren't we?" This was said by the boy standing next to the Mexican. He had shaggy brown hair that was shaking wildly with his head as he paced back and forth.

"Calm down Keigo. She's obviously not dead, just unconscious," said the last boy who was checking Chizuru's pulse. He had neat black hair and dark eyes.

"Are you sure? How can you be sure? She's dead, I know-"

"STRAWBERRY!" screamed Kazoku and Umino. Suddenly they had disappeared from Tatsuki and Orihime's side, and Ichigo was in the process of being glomped by two small blurs of hyperactive energy (A.k.a. Karasukami Kazoku and Akadoragon Umino).

"What the he-oof!" grunted Ichigo as a sudden weight on his back cause him to tip over and do a face-plant. He rolled over to see two faces peering down from their perch on his chest. "Who the hell are you two?"

"Ahh, what the hell! Why does Ichigo always get the ladies! Ichigo, you could share you know!" yelled Keigo. "Some of us haven't had any action in a while!"

"Are you sure you don't mean 'never' Keigo?" pointed out Mizuiro as he and Chad sweatdropped.

"Hey! You don't know that!" Keigo yelled. "Ichigo, how much do I have to pay to get a girl as well endowed as that!" He asked while pointing at Kazoku. He was then blinded by the light reflecting off Umino's glasses. She then spoke in a cold voice.

"For your information, we were giving Ichigo a friendly hug and he has in no way, shape, or form, paid for us. We are not some vulgar whores off the street as you seem to think, who will give a guy action if he simply pays for it. The fact that you would even suggest that makes me wonder just how pathetic you can be. Are your features and personality really so terrible that you have to buy love? Because that is the impression I am receiving." Umino turned around to pull Kazoku off of Ichigo.

Kazoku seemed to have just noticed Chad, so as soon as she was up, she glomped Chad who, in return, caught her, earning him the sparkly eyes and a giggle. Keigo, who had recovered from the insults of Umino, was about to comment. That is, until he heard a very unnerving voice in his ear. "You should know that I am very protective of Kazoku, and anyone who upsets her in any way with face my wrath." Umino then swiftly turned and walked over to Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Orihime, who were watching Chizuru, who seemed to be somewhere between waking up and having a twitching fit.

"Umi-chan! Lookie! I'm taller than you!"Umino turned to see Kazoku, who was situated on top of Chad's shoulders, her hands resting on his head. "Well, taller than you than usual." She giggled sweetly, looking around. "So… This is… uh… Karoku Town?" She asked, earning puzzled glances from everyone. Umino gave a nervous laugh. "Hehe, it's Karakura Town Kazo-chan. Remember?" She had a slight urgent tone as she said the last word, and Kazoku tilted her head. "Oh! Heehee, sorry, I'm not good with any names. They always get all mixed up in my head." She rapped her knuckles on her head and gave a distractingly cute laugh. Umino gave a quiet sigh of relief. 'Situation averted…'

"So where did you guys move here from?" Tatsuki asked, her arms crossed. Umino tensed at her tone; Arisawa was definitely still suspicious. '_Okay, situation not averted._' She thought. '_But thank Kami that Ishida isn't here… He'd definitely catch on right away…_' Kazoku sighed. "A land far, far away…" She said dreamily, waving her hand slowly. Umino rolled her eyes. "Abroad." She added simply. "Over from the Americas."

"You seem to speak Japanese pretty well." Tatsuki said. Umino shrugged. "It's not that difficult once you have some motivation. Plus, Kazoku and I have been interested in all things Japanese for years." She answered nonchalantly. 'Stop with the questions already…' She added mentally, though she was pretty sure her message got through in her hardened stare since Tatsuki didn't ask anything else.

"Well, Umi-chan and I gotta go home now." Kazoku said cutely as Chad lifted her off his shoulders and carefully set her down. "Come on Umi-chan! We're probably gonna get lost so we need as much time as we can get!" She grabbed Umino's arm and started pulling her away.

"What? Oh right, okay then. Well, it was nice meeting all of- wah!" Umino's goodbye was cut short as Kazoku suddenly sped off, dragging her friend with her.

"Whoa, hey, slow down!" Umino yelled. Her feet barely skimmed the sidewalk as she was pulled along. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere over the rainbow, so shush!" Kazoku answered, not faltering in her panic-stricken steps. "That makes no sense!" Umino protested, digging her heels against the pavement and causing Kazoku to fly back as if she'd been clotheslined. "Now just give me a minute to think."

Kazoku released Umino's arm. "What is there to think about? We're stuck in this crazy place, who knows how, and we were pulled through a deadly computer screen! What are we supposed to d-" She was cut off as Umino clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into a nearby alleyway, grumbling about making psychotic rants in the middle of the street. Kazoku bit her hand when they were out of sight of passing bystanders. "Aren't you the least bit concerned that we're in an anime world, with no known way of getting home? Because frankly, I'm terrified out of my mind right now!"

"Kazoku, calm down!" yelled Umino, losing her patience. "We have to think about this rationally. Okay, option A: We're dreaming and in reality, are still in the computer lab. Option B: we've gone clinically insane. Option C: This is really happening. Now, seeing as I don't think we've gone clinically insane because we've known we're crazy for a while already, option B is out. I also know that neither of us would immediately fall asleep in the computer lab AFTER school and when we landed in the baseball field, it hurt way too much to be a dream. So option A is out. That means that we really did somehow get transported to the Bleach world. If that's true, we need to find a place where we know we'd be safe AND that whoever we're staying with will believe us."

Umino thought for a second. "Come on. We need the address of a candy shop owned by one Kisuke Urahara."

"The candy man with the weird hat?"

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(1) When we wrote that, my (Kazoku's) thoughts went to Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Anyone ever heard that song?

(2) Ouran: Tamaki pwns. 'Nuff said.

(3) Kudos to whoever can recognize where these lines came from.

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Authoress' note: Hello! Gee, I guess it's been a while. Sorry 'bout that, we blame writer's block, history key terms (we hate 'em), not having access to a computer cuz I was gone ('I' being Thirsty4More- oh you know the rest!), being separated from each other, and my own laziness...I'm a bad person. Anywho, virtual snacks and or plushies for those of you who still want to continue reading this 'fanfic on a sugar high.' We now present the 3rd chapter of Indecision: Heart of the Seireitei!

Oh, and reviews make us happy and gives us motivation, just sayin'!

Oh wait, one more thing: Neither Moonwhisper22 or I own Bleach. Or anything else we might randomly comment about in this chapter. NOW we present the 3rd chapter!

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"Yep, this is definitely the place." Said Umino, staring at the small, shabby shop. Kazoku frowned.

"It's not very colorful. What kind of candy man doesn't have a colorful shop?"

Umino facepalmed. "What episode are you on?"

"Um...I dunno...twelve? I can't remember."

Umino resisted the urge to get irritated, but Kazoku already started towards the door of the shop, blissfully ignorant. Umino sighed.

At that moment, she noticed two children off to the side of the shop, each carrying a broom. One, a boy with red hair, was swinging his broom like a bat. The other, a girl with black hair pulled up into pigtails and sad chibi-like eyes stood not far off from the boy, sweeping quietly and watching him. Umino saw the girl's lips moving, but her voice was too quiet to make out. The boy suddenly turned and began yelling at her, disregarding the fact that she was shrinking back at his outburst. She tried talking again, but this only resulted in him calling her stupid and pulling on her pigtails. Kazoku's eyes glowed as she marched toward the shop. She angrily approached the boy and delivered a fierce punch to the side of his head, causing him to fly across the dirt and land unceremoniously on his back.

"You NEVER harass a chibi." Kazoku growled before her expression turned sweet. She turned to the girl. "Are you alright?" the girl simply nodded and Kazoku gave a chibi laugh. "Good."

Suddenly the redhead boy was on Kazoku's back, pulling on her hair. "What's the big idea?"He yelled. "Get off me!"Kazoku yelled back, trying to throw the kid off. Umino and the small girl watched as a wrestling match began, Umino sighing exasperatedly.

"What seems to be the problem here?" A voice said, and everyone stopped and looked to the shop door where a blonde man with a green and white striped hat and a fan stood, watching with slight amusement.

"He's harassing me." Kazoku said in a small voice, pointing to the redhead with her free hand. The other was gripping the boy's wrist, while her foot was planted on his stomach where she had kicked him. "Jinta, leave the poor, sweet girl alone." The man said with a hint of a laugh in his voice. The boy, Jinta, stared openmouthed for a moment as Kazoku smiled. "Yeah Jinta-baka. Leave me alone." This statement merely sent the boy into an angry rant while Kazoku just smirked, letting him go and crossing her arms.

Umino walked over to the man. "I'll be taking that-" She said, snatching the fan from him. "One, because it adds a cool dramatic effect, and two, it'll help calm me down." She then began fanning herself, watching somewhat irritably as Kazoku and Jinta continued their now verbal fight.

The man frowned as his fan was pulled from his grasp, then the frown twisted into an almost-pout. This, however, didn't last long as Kazoku abandoned her argument and practically knocked the man over as she hugged him around the waist, smiling adorably. "It's the candy man!" She giggled cutely.

"Well hello there little one!" Said Kisuke, smiling and patting Kazoku's head. Kazoku's sweetness melted away suddenly and she glared. "I. Am. Not. Little." She growled through clenched teeth, releasing the man and clenching her fists. Kisuke stepped back, suddenly fearing for his life as Kazoku took a deadly step towards him. All of a sudden Umino's fist came down on Kazoku's head with a resounding bonk.

"Owww!" Kazoku whined, reverting back to normal and holding her head. Tears formed in her eyes. "That's where the baseball hit me..." She whimpered. "Pfft, don't be such a wimp." Jinta said, smirking. Kazoku's sudden 'injury' disappeared as she tackled the boy. "I'll kill you!" Kisuke sweatdropped at Kazoku's infrequent moods while Umino grumbled. "Why am I not surprised..." She turned to Kisuke. "We need some help with something." She let the fan cover a tiny bit more of her face. "As much as I hate to say it..." She added quietly, not particularly wanting to deal with the man's jokes.

"Well I'm willing to help. Of course it all depends on what you need help with. I am, after all, just a humble candy store owner."

"Oh I'm fairly certain you can help us, Urahara-_taicho_." Kisuke's eyes widened, then returned to normal. "Oh wait, I'm sorry, you're not captain of squad twelve anymore, my bad." Umino said tauntingly, aware that the 'All-knowing-candy man' would understand that she was in on his little secret.

"I still don't understand why he would leave and let Kurotsutchi-baka take over." Kazoku commented as she pinned Jinta down. "You aren't that far yet, so quiet." Umino said, rolling her eyes. Kazoku frowned. "Well excuse me..."

Kisuke's face took on a serious expression. "Perhaps we should discuss your favor inside over a cup of tea, shall we?" He turned towards the shop and motioned for them to follow.

After the tea was poured and all three were seated, Umino began to tell him of their situation.

"So to be clear, you two got sucked into one of Kurotsutchi's computers and transported here." Umino and Kazoku nodded. "And you aren't from this universe at all, meaning technically, you don't exist." Another nod. "That means you have no friends or family with whom you could stay." They nodded again, only Kazoku just kept on bobbing her head up and down until Umino placed a firm hand on her head. Kisuke looked thoughtful for a second. Then his face broke out in a completely, over-exaggerated, 'I-have-an-idea' face and he spoke in his sarcastic voice. "I know, why don't you stay here!"

Umino sat rigidly in her seat, with her hands curling into arthritic claws. Her face twisted into a look of pure irritation and rage. Kazoku shook her head and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose after glancing over at Umino. "That's kinda why we came here." Umino fumed through clenched teeth. "Don't pop a vein." Kazoku warned, poking the visibly pulsing vein on Umino's head. "Do you think that's helping?"Umino snapped. Kazoku shrank back and was silent, looking down at her lap. Umino sighed exasperatedly and pulled a brightly colored piece of candy from her magical 'can-carry-a-planet' box in her pocket. She dangled it in front of Kazoku's face, which suddenly lit up at the sight of the candy. Kazoku snatched the candy from Umino's hand and popped it into her mouth, smiling and humming as she enjoyed the sweet taste of sugar. Her happy mood caused Umino's facial expression to brighten up just a little.

Kisuke watched the two girls interact; taking note of their closeness and the surprising amount of spiritual pressure that had fluctuated at their swiftly changing emotions. 'This could be interesting.' thought Kisuke. He then grinned and clapped his hands together, gaining their attention.

"All right then, I guess it's settled. So now that you've got proper accommodations, all we need to do is get you registered at Karakura High. You'll be attending school while I create a portal to get you home, safe and sound." Umino didn't exactly trust his overly excited proposal, but as they had no other options, she nodded in response.

"So, this'll only take a few days, right?"Umino asked. "Oh of course! Five days according to my calculations." Umino nodded, as if she had expected as much. "So, now what do we do?" Kazoku's face suddenly lit up. "Hey candy man, do you have a computer I could borrow for the next couple of days?" She asked sweetly, making use of her chibi powers.

"Um, yeah. Down the hall, second door to the left." Kazoku took off through the hallway. Umino just shook her head. "I don't care what she's up to right now, I'm going to bed. Thank you and good night Urahara-san." "Sleep well Umino-chan!" he said, smiling as she left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Authoress' Note: Yay, fourth chappie! Hehe, Chappy… Anyway, sorry we took forever, we are lazy and since we haven't gotten many reviews yet, our motivation needs some work. Oh, and the plot bunnies we ordered back when we posted the first chapter have finally arrived! Yay, a storyline! :D I shall deem these plot bunnies the Chappy calvary! Beware!

Onto the next subject, we are planning on putting up multiple chapters over the next few days, and there will possibly be a Valentine's Day omake of some sort, but it might not be posted until _after_ the 14th… But it's been written! So it's all good!

We present chapter four! Please leave reviews, they make Hanataro smile. And who doesn't love sweet little innocent Hana-kun? X3

* * *

The weekend passed smoothly with little problems, though Umino had a sinking suspicion that there was something out of the ordinary going on, seeing as Ururu and Jinta periodically ran outside with weapons in hand throughout their stay. She wasn't ignorant, she knew there were hollows about, but the strange glances she received from those of the house upon their return were enough to irk her considerably.

On a stranger note, her younger sister hadn't reappeared since the night of their arrival. Kazoku found comfort in more secluded places, this Umino knew. But completely locking herself away from the world without emerging once was unusual, even for someone like Kazoku. Umino sighed as she sipped her tea. This pestering situation, combined with the drudging Monday mood did _absolute wonders_ for her nerves.

She looked up as the young female of her previous train of thought trudged into the room, clad in a long sleeved blue pajama shirt and raindrop-printed pants. "Morning Umi-chan…" She murmured sleepily, plopping down at the table and rubbing her eyes. Umino raised an eyebrow at the sight. Kazoku's half-lidded eyes had dark bags beneath them and her face was tired and pale. "What happened to you?" She inquired. Kazoku rested her forehead on the table.

"Watchin' episodes… Wan'ed t' catch 'p t' ya…" She drawled. "Aizen's a backstabber… I hate 'im… Gin's still mah fave…"

Umino pinched the bridge of her nose. "How long did you stay up?"

"Uh…" Kazoku held out a hand and slowly counted on her fingers. "Wa, two, thr'… thr' nigh's…" She mumbled. Umino sweatdropped. "You do realize that we have to go to school in two hours, right?" She asked. Kazoku sat bolt upright. "What? Since when?" She screeched. "Um, since Kisuke enrolled us as transfer students on Friday." Umino answered back, talking as if she was explaining to a young child. "Jinta was supposed to tell you…" She trailed off at the sound of a cackling laughter behind her.

"You conniving little brat! I'll kill you!" Kazoku screamed, hopping over the table in a sudden burst of energy, lunging for the boy hiding behind the door and stumbling in physical exhaustion as she gave chase. Umino sighed once more and went back to her tea, doing her best to shut out the growing noise.

"Here are your uniforms!" Kisuke said cheerfully, appearing out of nowhere and dropping two identical bags in front of Umino. She gave him an apprehensive glance at his cheerful tone. Glass shattered somewhere within the house. Simultaneously, two voices rang out.

"He/She did it!"

XxXxXxXxX

Kazoku made a sound akin to a whine as she buttoned up her uniform shirt. "I can't wear this awful thing t' school." She mumbled, pulling at her skirt with a frown etched on her face. Umino sighed, immediately recognizing the problem. "Skirt too short?"

Kazoku nodded. "Tha', and th' shirt's way too tight up top." Kazoku's frown deepened as she adjusted the shirt, pausing before unbuttoning the top few buttons. "And this's better, but then everyone gets a nice view that I don't appreciate givin'." She grumbled. "Plus, I look awful in skirts. My legs are too f-" Her sentence was cut short as Umino let her knuckles make acquaintance with the side of Kazoku's head.

"If I even hear you attempt to call yourself fat again, I won't be so nice with the next punch. You aren't, so don't say so." She scolded angrily while Kazoku rubbed her head. "Ya didn't have t' be so mean…" Kazoku whimpered childishly.

"Karasukami Kazoku."

Said girl sighed and relinquished her chibi demeanor for the time being. "Fine. But I'm telling ya, I look awful in skirts."

"Don't worry. With that shirt, no one will be looking at your legs." Umino teased. Kazoku turned red and buttoned her shirt all the way up. "Shut up!" She whined half-heartedly. Umino simply snickered and pulled her own uniform on. "Ya see? Ya look cute. I look blegh." Kazoku whined. "You look fine." Umino rolled her eyes. Kazoku stuck her tongue out, then yawned with a tired mewl in her voice. "I nee' some candy o' somethin'." She drawled, her fatigue catching up with her once more. "Umi-chan, we got anythin' sugary?"

Umino couldn't help but smile as the girl yawned again, sounding like a puppy. "I'll ask Kisuke. Just get your school bag together." She said. Kazoku nodded tiredly and picked up her new school bag. "M'kay… Thankies Umi-chan." She mumbled.

Minutes later the two were at the door, Kazoku sipping from a travel mug. "Bye Kisuke!" She chirped. Umino elbowed her in the side and a bit of the drink dribbled down her chin. She frowned and wiped her mouth. "What?"

"Honorific." Umino whispered harshly.

"Wha- Oh! Sorry. Bye Urahara-san!" Kazoku corrected. "Now les' go!" She spun and took off down the walk. Umino nodded politely to Kisuke. "Thank you Urahara-san." She said.

"It's no problem at all. You two run along now." Kisuke responded with a grin concealed by his fan. "Have fun at school."

Umino scoffed. "Fun and school don't belong in the same sentence." She nodded her goodbye and followed after Kazoku who was currently bouncing up and down at the edge of the property calling "comeoncomeoncomeon!" Umino merely shook her head at Kazoku's impatience as she caught up to her.

XxXxXxXxX

"Huh. We're early." said Umino as she slid the classroom door open. Kazoku popped her head into the classroom. Sure enough, the whole room was devoid of students. "Well now what do we do?" the chibi whined. "We wait." stated Umino dryly as she pulled a manga book from her bag, leaned against the back wall, and promptly started to read.

Kazoku looked around the room for a second, then walked to the window so she could get a good look outside. After about two and a half seconds, she got bored of looking out the window and turned around to lean against it. Therefore, she didn't see the shadows slinking around outside.

Umino saw Kazoku fidgeting restlessly in her peripheral vision. "3, 2, 1…" She counted down silently. "Umi-chaaan! I'm bored!"

Umino sighed. "Find something to do."

"But there's nothing to d-Sado-kun!" Kazoku exclaimed, rushing from across the classroom to throw her arms around the giant's waist as he walked through the door. She smiled cutely up at him. "Hi there!" she chirped, receiving a nod of greeting in return.

Umino pulled out her cell phone to check the time, then closed her book and put it in her bag. More students began to arrive, including a certain Chappy-crazed shinigami and her Strawberry. Umino watched as Rukia stopped in her tracks, her violet eyes snapping to attention as she turned to stare at Kazoku. Then she turned her head to lock her eyes with Umino's. Rukia's gaze was filled with confusion and suspicion.

"Oi, Rukia, you okay?" Rukia broke the staring contest to look at Ichigo. "Of course Ichigo, I'm perfectly fine." Umino watched as Rukia sat down and began to doodly multiple Chappies in her journal. The bespectacled girl continued to stare at Rukia, pondering what could have unsettled her so much, until she heard a shriek that could only belong to Kazoku.

'I can't take much more of her theatrics.' Thought Umino as she turned her head to see what had upset Kazoku this time. The chibi girl was trying to escape from the clutches of Chizuru, who had her in another 'hug'. Umino's exasperation immediately turned into the anger of a protective sister (or that of a fire-breathing dragon, not that big a difference either way). The only warning that Chizuru got to tell her of the upcoming danger was the cold, dark aura that had suddenly engulfed her. Chizuru released Kazoku as her face was reunited with Umino's left fist. The crowd of students that had gathered to watch the show slowly backed up, eying Umino cautiously.

At that moment, the bell for homeroom rang, sending all of the students to their seats. Well, except for Kazoku and Umino who stood awkwardly by the door, and Chizuru who was still unconscious. The door to class 1-3 slid open and Ochi-sensei walked in. The first thing she noticed was the dead-to-the-world Chizuru. "Is there a reason why Miss Honsho is lying on the ground?" Umino stepped forward before someone could place the blame on her. "We don't know exactly what happened sensei; she just randomly tipped over, unconscious. I'm sure Chizuru-san was simply tired." Umino's glasses flashed, daring anyone to call her out on her lie.

The teacher simply shrugged, not bothering to look further into the matter, and turned to the class. "As you can see, we have two new additions to our class." She gestured to Umino. "Feel free to introduce yourselves."

Umino looked over the class, pushing her glasses up with her middle and ring finger. "My name is Akadoragon Umino." She said. She turned her head to Kazoku but the girl was suddenly gone. Upon searching, said girl was found hiding behind Chad. "Kazoku, get up here." Umino ordered. "But… but…"

"Now."

Kazoku sighed and complied reluctantly. "I'm Karasukami Kazoku." She said timidly, keeping her eyes downcast. A few awwww's were heard when she looked up, her eyes shy yet sparkling. She took that as her cue to smile cutely, then turned to Ochi-sensei.

"So, where can we sit sensei?" She asked, tilting her head. Said woman looked around the room. "Well, seeing as those two delinquents are gone again today, you can have their desks." She answered with a smile. Umino took her seat to the right of another glasses character who gave her an apprehensive glance, while Kazoku giggled and sat down in the desk behind Mizuiro. Students pulled out notebooks and flipped the open.

"Ishida, Kojima, make sure Akadoragon and Karasukami get the notes from the last section." Ochi-sensei said before turning to the board and beginning the lesson.

About an hour into class, Kazoku was showing signs of extreme boredom, the look evident on her face. She sighed, running her fingers over the wood of her desk, accidentally knocking her pencil onto the floor.

"Whoops." She mumbled. She scooted her chair back and leaned down to pick it up, then sat upright again. Unfortunately, the shift in weight proved too much for the delicate threads of her uniform shirt. A button, positioned at the center of her chest, popped off with a snap and hit Mizuiro in the back of the head.

"Agh!" Kazoku gasped, covering the now open gap in her shirt. Mizuiro, after getting over his moment of confusion after being hit in the head, leaned down and picked the button up off the floor. "I think this is yours." He handed the button to the younger girl. "Um… Thanks…" she said, her face flushed. "Um… Ishida-kun? Could you sew my button back on please?" She asked from across the room, embarrassed. Many pairs of eyes were locked on the girl or, more specifically, what she was trying to hide.

"Will you all please cease giving into your raging hormones and focus on Ochi-sensei's lesson?" Umino said icily, her glasses glinting. Half the spectators abandoned their leering gazes and looked back at their notes. However, a select few ignored her 'suggestion' and continued watching Kazoku as she stood and walked over to Uryu, holding her shirt closed with one hand and dropping the unattached button on his desk. "Quit using your peripherals you lecherous teenagers!" Umino snapped. The remaining students dropped their gazes.

Uryu's face turned a dark red as he looked from the button to the girl missing it. "Uh…" He said, unsure of what to do. Kazoku frowned. "Ishida-kun, it'll take ten seconds or less to fix the button. I can't just leave my shirt open and since I have no other shirt to wear, you need to fix this one." Her stern look turned sweet. "Please?"

"Ishida, fix the shirt so she can go back to her seat." Ochi-sensei said, tapping her foot impatiently. Said person drew a sewing kit from his pocket and opened it slowly. Umino was watching him with a 'you make one wrong move and you lose those hands' look. He unconsciously swallowed a gulp of air and pulled a needle from the kit.

Kazoku was right; fixing the button took less than ten seconds. But during that time, Uryu's face darkened three shades and he was trying his best not to touch the girl's skin as he pulled the needle through the fabric, lest he suffer a slow and painful death at the hands of Akadoragon Umino.

"Thankies Ishida-kun!" Kazoku giggled as he finished mending the shirt. She gave him a quick hug before prancing back to her seat. Uryu slapped a hand over his mouth, his thumb and forefinger pinching his nose. "I need to use the restroom." He said and promptly exited the room.

"What's with him?" Kazoku asked innocently. Mizuiro gave her a strained smile and laugh. "Don't worry about it, he's fine." He assured. Kazoku tilted her head, then shrugged. "Alright!" She chirped. She waved a hand at Ochi-sensei. "Continue on sensei!"

* * *

If you didn't notice, Kazoku talks a little like Gin when she's tired. And Umino hit Chizuru hard... She's still out cold... XD Anyway, review please! -Kazoku chibi eyes-


	5. Chapter 5

Authoress' Note: "We are planning on putting up multiple chapters over the next few days." Hahahaha, that's funny... Sorry readers, it didn't happen. But we will try our hardest to update regularly. And once again, (I feel like I've been saying it a lot, sorry, but...) we love reviews!

Chapter five! Onward Chappy cavalry! (I spelled cavalry wrong in the last AN didn't I...? Fail... Ah well. I will make my mistake known. This is what I get for not letting Umino check over the chapter first.)

* * *

The lesson concluded, students began putting notes away and writing down and starting on the day's assignments. Uryu got out his previous chapter notes and held them out to Umino. "Here." "Thanks." said Umino as she began to peruse his notes, the beginnings of a frown making itself known on her face. Uryu watched from the corner of his eye as her frown deepened as she continued to read.

Umino sighed, set down Uryu's notes, and whipped out a pen. 'She wouldn't dare!' he thought, but Umino proved him wrong. The raven haired Quincy watched with an incredulous look on his face as Umino began making corrections on his notes. Uryu got up and stood by her desk, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence.

"There something you need?" Umino asked, continuing to mark his notes with red ink. "Actually, yes. What do you think you're doing, making a mess of MY notes?" Umino glanced up at him. "I'm not making a mess. I'm fixing all of the imperfections in your notes. I also took it upon myself to add several details that your notes were lacking."

"What? My notes aren't lacking anything!"

"On the contrary, your notes are highly inadequate." Umino pushed her glasses up. "For example, there is no mention in here of (1) the Axis Pact that Japan formed in 1940."

"Axis Pact? Ah, right, the pact between-"

"-Germany and Italy."

Uryu's frown deepened a little more. "I know that."

"You also forgot to mention the two most notable military leaders who had advised against attacking the U.S., Great Britain, and-"

"-the Netherlands. I am aware of who were against the idea, it was-"

"-Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku (2) and Prince Takamatsu." Umino smirked, pleased that she was able to get back at him for interrupting her. Uryu just looked irritated about being interrupted once again. "That's correct. And you will find that information stated in my notes."

"Yeah, now. See, they're written oh so clearly in red ink." Umino said smugly, finding enjoyment in seeing the hard look on Uryu's face. Then they simultaneously executed the glasses move.

"Uh oh, Umino's gonna fight Ishida..." Kazoku said. She was holding onto Chad's hand (or more specifically, two of his fingers), watching with interest as the tension in the air increased. "Someone's gonna get it.." She looked up at Chad. "Can I sit on your shoulders? I wanna watch and too many tall people are in the way."

There was nothing but a sound between a hum and a grunt of affirmation and she was lifted off the ground, her head brushing the ceiling before she slouched and crossed her arms on Chad's head "Thankies." She smiled and turned her attention to the glasses characters standing amidst the students who, by now, had turned to watch the battle of wits take place between the two. They were spitting random Japanese history facts at each other. Ochi-sensei looked up from the homework she was correcting to see that none of her students were on task. She simply rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the stack of papers on her desk.

"Glucose and oxygen are the two products of-"

"-photosynthesis! The two forces that interact to form a radio wave-"

Umino cut him off again. "-electricity and magnetism."

"The opposite of agoraphobia is-"

"-claustrophobia."

"The largest island between Sumatra and Mindanao is-"

"-Borneo."

Ichigo looked to Chad. "This isn't even Japanese history anymore, what's the point?" Chad simply shrugged. The blue-eyed chibi upon his shoulder had been entertained for a while, watching her sister battle it out with Uryu. However, after the first fifteen facts had shot out, she'd gotten thoroughly confused. Hence, she felt the need to end it. Tapping on Chad's shoulder, she pointed towards Ochi-sensei, indicating that she wanted to talk to her. Chad gave a small nod and approached the desk.

Kazoku hopped down from Chad's shoulders and whispered in Ochi-sensei's ear. Sensei nodded and began writing on the blackboard. Then she called to Uryu and Umino. "Ishida, Akadoragon." Their heads snapped to look at her, glasses flashing. She simply pointed to the problem on the board:

Pi/3 radians = how many degrees?

About five seconds passed before Umino calmly said "60." She then smirked at Uryu and sat down, the rest of the class following suit as they realized it was over. Uryu just stood there, his glasses slowly slipping down and his mouth dropped in defeat.

XxXxXxXxX

"Om nom!" Kazoku yelled, plopping down on the ground with a sandwich in her hands. She unwrapped it and bit in happily. Umino sat down beside her and pulled a piece of pizza wrapped in tin foil from her lunch bag. "Looks like no one's here yet." Kazoku said with her mouth full. She eyed the pizza. "Where'd you get pizza in Japan?"

"Think about who we're staying with."

"Oh yeah... All powerful candyman." Kazoku swallowed her food and waved as a group of teens ascended the stairs. "Strawberry-kun! Ishida-kun! Sado-kun!" She called. The three cautiously regarded the two currently occupying their usual spot before approaching. Surprisingly, Keigo and Mizuiro were not present.

"Hey." Ichigo said, hesitantly sitting down for fear of being tackled as he had in their first encounter. The others followed suit until everyone was seated in a comfortable circle.

"Looks like Pixie-Stick's nose stopped bleeding." Umino taunted, smirking at Uryu. Kazoku tilted her head. "You had a bloody nose? Did you get punched?"

Uryu was silent, glaring at Umino while his face flushed. "Ishida-kun?" Kazoku addressed, waving a hand in front of his face. Umino snickered and took a bite of her pizza. Kazoku gave up pestering Uryu when she spotted the juice Chad was drinking. "Un trago?" She asked, holding out a hand expectantly. He looked a bit surprised. "You speak Spanish?"  
"Un poco." She replied, still holding out a hand. "Umino habla un poco español tambien. Pero es español de personas de blancas."(3) She laughed. Chad handed her the juice and she smiled, taking a sip.

"For your information, I am a Pacific Islander. I am not white and therefore I do not speak 'white people Spanish'." Umino said. Kazoku handed the juice back to Chad. "You know what I mean. It's textbook Spanish. And by the way, I'm supposed to be a Middle Eastern terrorist, but I still say I speak white people Spanish." She paused and examined her wrist. "Though I gotta say, I look more pink."

". . . Terrorist?" Ichigo repeated, raising an eyebrow. Uryu adjusted his glasses. "The Middle East contains a considerable amount of them, since the region is the most militarized in the world-" He began, but was interrupted.

"Terrorism is particularly present in Lebanon, which has been deemed a haven for terrorists. Hezbollah, the most powerful terrorist group in Lebanon, is also an active political party that occupies fourteen of the one hundred and twenty eight seats of the Lebanese Parliament." Umino stated. Uryu stared at her, at a loss for words. "Looks like Umino-chan stole your thunder again Ishida-kun." Kazoku said. She looked around. "Where's Asano-kun and Kojima-kun?"

"No wonder it's been peaceful." Umino said, not bothering to search.

"Keigo was ranting about a demon in the juice machine." Ichigo said. Kazoku nodded and looked up at the sky.

Suddenly a peculiar feeling pierced the air, making Kazoku drop her half eaten sandwich. A dull roar sounding like glass over stones could be heard nearby.

"U-Umino…?" She whispered, looking over at said girl. Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad were already jumping to their feet, running for the stairs. "We'll be right back!" Ichigo called over his shoulder. Kazoku frowned as they disappeared. "I'm guessing… Hollow?" She said. Umino nodded. The chibi girl held her stomach, her face pale. "That feeling… It made me sick…"

When the three finally returned, Kazoku was leaning over a nearby garbage can, vomiting while Umino held her hair up. "Nyagh…" She groaned, wiping her hand with the back of her mouth after emptying her stomach. "Total waste of a good sandwich…."

"You alright?" Ichigo asked as the three sat back down. "Mhm… It's just that I felt something weird a little bit ago. It upset my stomach." She looked towards the garbage can. "Disgusting taste." She sat back down. "Wonder what it was. I heard this weird roaring sound." Kazoku said obliviously. Umino shot her a warning look. "Maybe a car wreck nearby." She said sharply, daring the girl to reveal their awareness of the Hollows. Kazoku shrugged.

"Maybe." She got a glint in her eye. "Or maybe a hideous monster in search of blood to sate it's tortured soul." She said poetically. Umino relaxed and let out a quiet laugh. "A demon set on devouring the souls of the living, doomed to die at judgment's hand or else roam the land for eternity." Umino stated in the same poetic tone.

The three male teens exchanged glances that did not go unnoticed by the girls. Kazoku giggled. "You guys look so serious. Don't tell me you guys believe there are soul eating monsters around here?" She asked, linking her fingers and resting her chin on them while her elbows rested on her knees. "Such ideas are ludicrous." Umino added, giving another low chuckle. "Don't you agree?"

The uneasy look faded from their faces and Ichigo laughed. "Guess so."

The lunch period passed with little problems save a sullen Kazoku at the sounds of her empty stomach, who's roars were put to rest after Umino grudgingly sacrificed her juice money to buy Kazoku a new sandwich. The rest of the school day was fairly peaceful… Save the assaults on Kazoku by Chizuru, the random 'bathroom runs' by Ichigo and Rukia, and a few trips to the water fountain by Kazoku who struggled to keep her food down after feeling the dark twisted reiatsu nearby.

After the last bell rang, Umino walked over to Kazoku who was hugging everyone goodbye. Said girl paused in thought, then shrugged before hugging Mizuiro and Keigo goodbye as well. "Buh bye!" She giggled. Umino pulled the girl back and stepped in front of her, daring Keigo to react. He backed away. "H-Hey! I didn't do anything!"

"Leave him alone Umino-chan. We gotta get home." Kazoku said, tugging on Umino's sleeve. "Oh, that reminds me. Our…" Umino stopped, subtly glancing at Ichigo and company from behind her bangs. "… landlord asked us to pick up some supplies from the store for him."

"Translation: He wants us to do his grocery shopping."  
"Yep." Umino took out a metallic black cell phone decorated with blood red daffodils. She pulled up a text. "Here's the list."

"Where'd you get that phone?"

"Gift from Ur- the landlord."

"Wha- Why didn't I get one?"

Umino smirked and reached into her pocket, pulling out a metallic blue cell phone with a silver marigold charm on it. "Huh, he told me to deliver it this morning… You were so hyper off white chocolate mocha, it must have slipped my mind." She dangled the phone in front of the chibi's face.

"Umino. Hand it." Kazoku demanded seriously after trying and failing to snatch the phone.

"I don't think I will…"

"If you don't, I'm going to shred your Shiro plushie when we get home."

"Don't even joke like that. You touch Shiro-kun and you die."(4)

"Give me my phone then."

"Hmm…"

"Umino. Give. Me. The phone."

Umino looked unfazed by Kazoku's threatening aura (though it seemed that it had quite an effect on those surrounding her), but she handed the phone over. The tense feel in the air dissipated and Kazoku smiled happily. The other students sweatdropped. "Alright. Let's go. Goodbye everyone." Umino said, dragging Kazoku out the door before the younger girl got the idea to start a game of hide-and-seek tag.

* * *

(1) Reminds me of Hetalia…

(2) These are the actual military leaders. Yamamoto!

(3) Roughly, "A little. Umino speaks a little Spanish also. But it's white people Spanish." Please note that I used no translators, only my knowledge gained from my Spanish class. Correct me if I'm wrong. (Wait… I used translate for 'un trago'… Cheater…)

(4) Umino is the proud and protective owner of a Hitsugaya plushie.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authoress' Note: Okay, it's official. We are failures at posting new chapters up on the deadlines we set for ourselves. So here's the deal. We'll just continue to say that we plan to update regularly. Key words, _plan to_. Probably not going to happen, but hey, it's the thought that counts. Oh, small reminder, reviews inspire people. Just sayin'.**

**And without further ado, we present the next chapter of Indecision: Heart of the Seireitei.**

**Oh, wait, forgetting something. Disclaimer: Dude, I think I'll put a disclaimer in this chapter so we don't get sued! I would hate to lose my Shiro plushie. We do not own Bleach. That belongs to Tite Kubo (lucky). We do, however, own the destructive OCs in this fic. I also own an almost-empty can of bleach (sniffle, it's not the same!).**

**On with the fic!**

* * *

Umino sighed as she looked down yet another aisle. 'Damn Urahara… Can't he send someone else to do his shopping?' She thought, her mood slowly darkening. They'd been at the store for an hour already, but they had found only their groceries so far. Umino cursed her limited knowledge of hardware, which made up a majority of the list. Finally, she gave up and set off to find supplies for Kazoku and herself, seeing as Urahara had quite a limited supply of necessities that met Umino's standards.

"Umino, looklooklooklooklook!" Kazoku suddenly whispered excitedly, tugging on said girl's sleeve. "Will you quit it? I'm looking for somethi-" "Sorry, but look!" She pointed down the cosmetics aisle, where Umino noticed familiar silver locks and squinted eyes, mouth pulled down in a frown as he sifted through the products on the racks. "I thought he was in Hueco Mundo, what's he doing here?" Kazoku asked. Umino raised an eyebrow. "More importantly, why is he shopping for makeup?" She replied.

Kazoku tapped her chin, then scampered towards the man with a gleam in her eyes. "Kazo don't-" Umino tried to protest, but Kazoku was already approaching him with a smile set on her face. She then paused, realizing the problem with speaking to him as if she knew him. Regardless of how much she knew, the man didn't have a clue about who she was.

"Get back here." Umino hissed, grabbing hold of Kazoku's arm and dragging her backwards. "But- but I wanted to say hi to Gin-kun!" Kazoku answered, just a tad too loud. Said man looked up at the mention of his name. The three exchanged long drawn out looks (if you could call Gin's squinting a look) in utter silence. Then, the two girls were gone, running as fast as they could towards the opposite end of the store. They only stopped after diving into a clothes rack.  
"You idiot." Umino growled, glaring at Kazoku as she tried to catch her breath after sprinting. She cursed her endurance after seeing that the chibi wasn't breathing hard at all. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

"Caught? It's not like he's after us. Why couldn't I go say hi?"  
Umino face palmed. "Think this through. He doesn't know who you are. He'll wonder how you know so much; his name, for one thing. Then he'll take into account your reiatsu if it's noticeably stronger than other humans, and most likely other _assets_. You risk getting taken to Hueco Mundo and Kisuke and I have to find a way to save your stupid ass."

Kazoku stuck her tongue out. "You over think things."

"No, I'm realistic. You expect him to immediately be your best friend the moment you say hello."

"I do not!"

"Yeah you do."

"Ah come on Umino. You'd probably be the same way if it was Toushiro here. Of course, you'd probably tackle him first." Kazoku grinned. "But who would blame you? He's adorable. If I didn't have Gin, I'd-" She was cut off by the shorter girl, who lunged at her, missed, and tumbled out of the clothes rack. Kazoku poked her head through the shirts. "What was that for?"

"You stay away from my Shiro-kun." Umino said coldly, her glasses glinting. Kazoku grinned, an idea forming in her head. "Don't worry Umi-chan. I wouldn't see him like that; he barely qualifies as a man at this point." She held her thumb and forefinger about a centimeter apart, indicating the height of the captain. "Plus, he's built like a ten year old."

Kazoku took off running with a furious Umino in pursuit. "Take that back!" Umino yelled, weaving between shoppers who, in turn, gave her agitated glances. Kazoku merely giggled and skipped in and out of the crowd, still keeping a reasonable distance ahead. "I don't think chasing me is going to solve anything Umi-chan~!" She called over her shoulder in a singsong voice, skidding around a jewelry display and running towards the checkout lanes.

"Damn her..." Umino muttered under her breath. She was particularly sensitive to height insults, especially directed at her Shiro-kun. She wasn't about to let Kazoku leave unscathed. She focused her sights on the chibi girl and her eyes widened. "Shit..." She breathed.  
Unbeknownst to Kazoku, a certain silver haired ex-shinigami had made an appearance once more, this time stepping into an incredulously long line with a shopping basket in hand. It was with this line that Kazoku was now on a collision course with, not realizing the oncoming impact. Said girl was mindlessly weaving back and forth. "Kazoku!" Umino yelled, but the girl didn't slow her pace.

"Agh!" The girl screeched as she hit the silver haired man head on, causing them both to tumble backwards across the floor, the basket flying from his grip and the contents scattering across the floor. Many people stopped to stare, while Umino sighed and adjusted her glasses as Kazoku pushed herself up.

"I'm so sor- Agh! Gin!" Kazoku yelped, jumping up. Umino face palmed and Kazoku slapped a hand over her mouth. "Crap." She said, the word muffled by her hand as the man frowned up at her before pushing himself up and picking up the now empty basket. "Uh, hold on!" Kazoku said, holding a finger up. She quickly retrieved the previous contents of the basket and returned them to Gin.

"Do I know ya?" He questioned. Kazoku shook her head rapidly, her curls bouncing about her face. "Nope! Not at all! Sorry for running into you! BYE!" She spun on her heel and made quick work of putting distance between herself and Gin, her eyes searching for Umino. Said girl grabbed her arm saying "moron" repeatedly as she pulled the girl out of the store.

XxXxXxXxX

Kazoku looked up as Umino returned, carrying a grocery bag in one hand and both school bags in the other. "You see what happens when you do stupid shit? I have to do all the work myself because you can't go back inside the store." She said, tossing Kazoku's bag to her. Kazoku lowered her eyes to the ground as she caught it by the strap. "Sorry, alright? I should have watched where I was going." She apologized quietly. Umino sighed. "Let's just go." The two set off for Urahara's shop, not noticing the silent form following them, watching from the rooftops. The figure had a curious look on his face, his usual grin pulled into an inquisitive frown.

Kazoku looked up at the sky. "Ooh. Looks like it's gonna rain." She said, smiling. "Great…" Umino said with sarcasm dripping off the word. Kazoku spun and walked backwards. "What, don't like a little water Umi-chan?" She asked with a laugh. The silver haired man noticed a shift in her reiatsu, seemingly aglow at the mention of rain. These two had a considerably high reiatsu, he noted, higher than a normal human's. He looked them over carefully and his grin slipped back over his face, his gaze settling on the taller of the two. She definitely reminded him of someone… He'd found two identical similarities already.

"Hey, ya think Gin-kun likes rain?" Kazoku asked, looking up at the sky. The man in question raised an eyebrow. "How should I know?" Umino answered. "I dunno, I was just wondering. He seems like the kind who'd like snow, but I'm not so sure about rain." Kazoku said, tapping her chin. "But as long as he doesn't hate it, I'm just fine."

"You'd think you'd know, since you practically stalk the guy."

"The term is silently follow without detection."

"That's stalking."

"Alright, Miss Technical. It's stalking. But I don't stalk. I have video cameras for that." Kazoku waved her hand dismissively as she said this.

"If he ever actually met you, you'd creep him out. It doesn't matter if he's the creepiest man ever to walk the Seireitei, you would creep him out."

"Psshh, whatever. Toushiro would find you aggravating and overbearing, as well as a hazard to his division. So we both fail."

Umino glared at the girl, who made a teasing face and turned to walk forward again. "Race ya back." She said and started running, her book bag slung over her shoulder.

Gin was thoroughly intrigued now, but to his dismay he couldn't pursue the girls any further. He had to meet Ulquiorra soon to deliver the Espada's makeup as well as to gain passage back to Hueco Mundo. Gin sighed, debating whether to just drop the cosmetics into a river and make the pale arrancar swim after them, but he decided against it. He was in more of mood to pester the Quinta Espada today. He headed off in the direction of his rendezvous point with his grin slipping back into place.

The two girls ran side by side, not even flinching as thunder rumbled in the distance. "You think you can outrun me?" Umino challenged, her breath quickening as she forced the words out. "Nah, not speed-wise. But in distance? I've already won." Kazoku sneered. She raised her head and looked up; rain began to fall. She let out a small sigh. "Giving up?" Umino smirked, pulling ahead.

"No, just enjoying the rain." Kazoku answered, slowing to a brisk walk, taking in the feel of the water on her skin. Umino slowed as well and walked beside Kazoku, pulling her jacket hood up. She examined the sky, looking for any sign of a break in the clouds and letting her mind wander.

"Agh!" Kazoku screeched, interrupting her neutral state of mind. The taller girl hopped to the side as a large winged creature swooped down from overhead, missing her by mere centimeters. The creature doubled back, roaring before diving at Umino, who jumped back and swung her book bag at it. The bag connected and the fanged form ascended, circling above them. "Run!" Umino yelled, grabbing Kazoku's arm and breaking into a full out, unrestrained sprint towards Urahara's shop.

"Why the heck is a Hollow after us?"

"That doesn't matter right now. We can't fight it, we're not staying here. Now hurry!"

Kazoku began sprinting as well, pulling far ahead of Umino. "Hey!" The latter yelled, trying and failing to keep up. The Hollow pitched forward, nearly taking Umino's head off her shoulders. Its assault was interrupted when Kazoku's book bag hit one wing, throwing it off balance. "Who has to hurry now?" She sneered, grabbing hold of Umino's hand and taking off at an amazing speed for one so small.

"You shut up! Maybe you could put the heavy artillery you call boobs to good use and suffocate the damn thing!"

"Do you really need to choose now to make fun of my boobs?"

"Yes."

"Jerk."

Umino managed a smirk and willed herself to run faster to match her friend's pace after pulling her hand free. A roar from overhead caused that smirk to fall, replacing it with a somewhat frantic look as the two girls dodged another nose dive. Multiple roars could be heard now and the two girls exchanged glances as three more Hollows joined the first. "Dammit, where are-" Umino began.

A sizzling blue arrow zipped over her head, obliterating the pursuing hollow as well as the rest of her sentence. "I think they're here." Kazoku said. "No, really?" She got in response with a sarcastic look to match. They slowed their pace and turned their heads to see a blade slash through the lion-like body of one Hollow while a well directed burst of crackling blue tore through another. However, the death of the three Hollows only gave way to a dozen more of the dark creatures lunging forward as bits of the sky itself were torn open to allow them passage.

A Hollow landed a mere meter from the girls. Umino skidded to a stop and quickly jumped to the side, while Kazoku shrieked "Not good!" and dove for the pavement just in time to avoid what would have been a near fatal gash across her chest. She rolled a few times and came to a halt only after hitting someone's feet. Her eyes trailed up across a pristine white pant leg, across the blue cross and up to the glasses concealing dark eyes. She sat up and tugged on his pant leg. "Hey Ishida-kun!"

The teen looked down at her and simply stared as she pushed herself up. "Hey, don't waste your time staring at her, kill it!" Umino yelled at him. Before the Quincy could comply, a fist smashed through the skull of the Hollow and it dissolved in a black mist. "Oh, too late. Sado-kun won." Kazoku said. "Fail Quincy, fail." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. He quirked an eyebrow. "You know of the-" He began, but suddenly grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him, letting a volley of arrows pierce the flesh of the onslaught of attacking Hollows. Meanwhile, Umino looked on as a familiar shock of orange wove between the dark creatures, slicing away at them one by one while a wall of brute strength plowed through the ones that hadn't been caught by the blade.

"What are you two just standing here for? You'll get yourselves killed if you stay out here!" Uryu yelled to them. Kazoku crossed her arms. "But I wanna see if a Menos Grande shows up. I've never seen one up close and I wanna know if they're as big as they look." He gave her a 'what the hell' look before wrapping an arm around her and dodging a swipe from an oncoming Hollow, dragging her with him. "Hey put me down! Only Sado-kun is allowed to pick me up, leggo!" She flailed. Ignoring his urge to simply drop the girl for the Hollow to catch, he carefully released her a fair distance away.

"They need to get out of here, and soon. These Hollows aren't letting up." Ichigo snarled as he struck down yet another attacker. Umino, who had now moved a safe distance from the bulk of the attack, adjusted her glasses. "Kurosaki, don't speak as if we aren't here. We are well aware of your presence, so no need to relay information to Sado and Ishida."

"Y-you can see me?" Ichigo gaped and then cursed as he received a hit to the gut from a larger Hollow. "It's common sense Kurosaki." Uryu rolled his eyes. "If they are able to see the Hollow, they obviously are able to see Shinigami."

"Stupid Strawberry-kun." Kazoku stuck her tongue out. "And speaking of Hollows, where are all these coming from?"

"They're more than likely attracted to your reiatsu. It's considerably strong, though you're about as good at controlling it as Kurosaki." Uryu replied. Kazoku stuck her tongue out once more. "Snobby Quincy boy needs to shut his mouth before snobby Quincy boy gets stabbed by his own Seele Schneider." She said childishly. Umino snickered at the annoyed look on his face. She then threw her arms up and covered her head as a winged hollow dove at her before efficiently being disposed of by another arrow.

"Hey! Watch where you're shooting that thing! You could have shot me in the face!" She yelled. "Pity I didn't." He said in a disappointed tone. "Now get out of here before you both get yourselves killed." Umino was about to argue, but she decided not to bother. Seeing as the hollows were now pinpointing the girls' exact location, they began to flock towards the reiatsu sources. Umino growled and grabbed Kazoku's arm. "Unfortunately, I can't argue with you right now." She and Kazoku pushed past him and began their run towards Urahara's.

"Urahara pwns you!" Kazoku called, flashing a peace sign with a laugh as a goodbye. The three teens didn't have the time nor the availability to question the odd sentence, and the girls left without another word.

XxXxXxXxX

"That's it, I don't care how long it usually takes to make a portal." said Umino, swiftly running out of breath as she ran beside Kazoku. "That damn Mr. Hat n' Clogs is sending us home Today!" Kazoku nodded in agreement, picking up the pace as another hollow cry tore through the sky.

XxXxXxXxX

Three ignored crosswalks, multiple splashes through steadily rising puddles, and one skipped 'do-not-walk sign' later, the girls were sliding down the ladder to Urahara's secret basement. Having failed in trying to locate the ex-captain above ground after drying themselves off, they'd decided to check downstairs, assuming he'd be busy working on the portal. Bad assumption. He was, in fact, sitting down having tea next to a certain black cat who was happily lapping at a bowl of milk. The girls paused for a moment in disbelief (plus they had to catch their breath).

After Kazoku's breathing had returned to normal, she warily looked at Umino before slowly inching away. She'd seen that look on Umino's face multiple times and was also familiar with the way her hands were, once again, curled into arthritic claws, so Kazoku thought it best to be a safe distance away from her sister before she exploded.

"Oh, hey Kazoku-chan, Umino-chan! Tea?" called Urahara, waving at them with that stupid grin on his face. Kazoku sighed, 'Here it comes.' Umino stomped over to the candystore owner, her glasses flashing dangerously. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be working on the portal, not having a tea party!" "Actua-" Umino cut him off. "Are you even aware of the chaos taking place outside? We were almost killed because apparently the hollows are attracted to our reiatsu!" Umino let out a dry chuckle that bordered on hysteria. Urahara then whipped out his fan and proceeded to fan himself. "Actually, little Umino-chan, you'll be pleased to know that I finished the portal early this morning!" Kisuke was now grinning like crazy.

Umino tilted her head down so her bangs and chin length hair were obscuring her face. Her body was visibly shaking with barely contained rage. Finally, she snapped. Umino's head whipped up and she bared her teeth, showing off her abnormally sharp canines. She made to lunge for Urahara, but was stopped in mid-air as Kazoku wrapped her arms around her sister's stomach. "Let go! I'm gonna kill him!" yelled Umino, kicking her legs and clawing at the empty air in front of her, but to no avail. "No Umino, calm down! You kill him and we never get home!" After a minute more, Kazoku realized that Umino was not going to listen to reason and so, with a sigh, she threw herself backwards with Umino in tow. Landing on her back, she hooked her legs around Umino's waist, locked her hands together, and tightened her hold with all her strength. Umino finally began to calm down when she realized she was having an awfully hard time breathing. Kazoku only loosened the hold when Umino stopped struggling, gasping for breath. "H-how... the hell?" Umino rasped.

"Years of hugs, sis. Years of hugs."

Umino took a big gulp of air, then let it out slowly. She lay there for a few seconds. "...Um, can you let go now?" After speculating whether or not her sister was still hell bent on killing the Candyman, Kazoku released her. Umino stood up, adjusted her glasses, and then pulled Kazoku to her feet.

"Quite a temper you have there Umino-chan! For a second I thought you actually wanted to kill me! Don't worry though, I won't hold it against you." said Urahara, obviously amused by the girls' antics. "Now I'm sure you girls would like to leave as soon as possible, so why don't you go gather your things and change out of those uniforms. Then you can head back home, safe and sound!" Umino and Kazoku didn't exactly trust Urahara's upbeat attitude, but then again, when didn't he act like that? So they shrugged it off and headed back up the ladder to retrieve their things.

XxXxXxXxX

Ten minutes later the girls were seen sliding back down the ladder. Kazoku had ditched the short skirt and tight shirt for a pair of faded blue, boot-cut jeans and a billowy, long-sleeved blue shirt. Her shoes had been replaced with plain blue flip-flops. Umino had also exchanged her uniform in favor of a pair of black skinny jeans and a wine red, v-necked, baby doll t-shirt that tied in the back with a bow. Her height had been increased by about four inches, thanks to her black, calf-length, wedge-heeled boots. Both girls had messenger bags slung across their shoulders, Kazoku's being a midnight blue with silver birds embroidered on it and Umino's a blood red with black flames.

Kazoku was the first to hop off the ladder and she made her way over to Urahara, skipping and twirling with Umino calmly following her. Urahara already had the portal ready and waiting.

Umino, begrudgingly, gave the Candyman a low bow. "Arigato, Urahara-san, for your hospitality and I'm-" Umino flinched, "sorry for any disrespect I may have caused you." Behind her, Kazoku nodded her head in approval. "You're very welcome Umino-chan. It was no trouble at all!" said Kisuke, briefly tilting his hat. He then waved her on toward the portal. Umino nodded and stepped in front of the glowing rectangle of light. Kazoku made to follow, but Urahara held her back.

"Kazoku-chan wait, I have something for you." Kisuke held out a small black cube that was a mere two inches in length, width, and height. The only defining feature was the big, red button on top. "Now remember, don't push the button until you get there, 'kay?" Kazoku nodded and took the little black box in her hands. "But, what does it do?" she asked, tilting her head curiously. Kisuke simply began fanning his face. "It's a surprise." Kazoku looked at him for a second before shrugging and pocketing the little button.

"All right you two, stay safe!" called Urahara. The two girls turned to wave at him before stepping through the portal. With a flash of light, both the portal and the girls had vanished. Urahara smiled and strolled back over to where Yoruichi was sitting, swinging his cane as he went. As he sat down, Yoruichi spoke. "You do realize that if Umino ever sees you again, she won't hesitate to kill you." Kisuke chuckled as he poured more milk for her. "We'll just have to wait and see how this turns out."

* * *

**Fear not faithful readers! This fanfic is far from over! In the next chapter we get to find out what Kisuke has done. The Chappy cavalry is now on the move! Hehe X3**

**And as a side note, when Kazoku says her "nope, not at all!" line, it originally had no spaces between the words and ran together, but FF is being a jerk and refuses to save the line as is. So it had to be modified. -_-**


	7. Chapter 7

Authoress' Note: ...umm...hehe, hi! Guess it's kinda been a while, sorry. BUT! In our defense, school was being a bitch. I just wanna say that a history project that requires the students to create a curriculum for your class is stupid. Especially if your grade depends on how well they score on the test you made...What teacher makes you do that? We also had state testing, drama rehearsals, drama with friends, and homework (ugh, too damn much!) to worry about.

Anywho, some of you may be wondering where and when the hell this takes place in the Bleach world. We have decided that shortly after Grimmjow is defeated the gang ends up having a **successful **rescue mission. Ichigo never faces off against Ulquiorra and Starrk never takes Orihime. No invasion of Karakura. Please note that this is very difficult to write seeing as we are now caught up to episode 324, well past where we set the story. This means that Kazoku and Umino will know things that have not taken place yet in the Bleach world (at this point, Umino knows a considerably large amount more than Kazoku, who has only watched up to episode 165 in this fic).

So, here ya go, the Chappie cavalry proceeds!

* * *

The girls hadn't even walked two steps before they were abruptly sucked into the sterile white vortex. It was a rather disorienting experience, feeling the wind rush past their faces as they traveled at the speed of light and yet seemingly making no progress through the endless expanse of white space. Umino held on tightly to Kazoku's hand, both fearing the thought of getting separated.

After what felt like ages of wandering through nothing, the space around them shattered in an instant and they were surrounded by clear blue sky. The speed at which they had been moving coupled with their return to reality had enough force to wrench Kazoku and Umino apart. Both girls began to scream as they fell through the sky, not knowing which way was up or down.

Time seemed to drag on as the two plummeted towards the ground. They yelled until their throats went dry, only for them to take a breath and start again. This repeated for a while until they realized that they were still falling and still nowhere near the ground.

"Umino?" Kazoku called over the rushing wind.

"What?"

"We've been falling for a while, huh?"

"...Yeah."

"Umino?"

"What?"

"We're gonna die if we hit the ground, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Oh."

Kazoku frowned, curling her toes to keep her flip flops on her feet. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the tiny button. The ground was nearing now, and Umino had drawn her knees to her chest, eyes closed, preparing herself for the impact. Kazoku looked from Umino to the box and back again.

_'We're falling to our deaths... And I'm staring at a button.'_

Wondering why she wasted so much time being a space case, Kazoku pressed the button. What did she have to lose?

The tiny box buzzed and sparked suddenly, causing her to screech and drop it. It fell faster than she did (_'That's not supposed to happen. We're supposed to fall at the same rate.' Kazoku pondered absentmindedly_) and hit the center of a walled street. An Urahara logo unfolded beneath them.

The two girls hit the logo and it sunk before catapulting them back into the air. Soon after, Kazoku landed on the center of the logo, legs crossed and smile stretching from ear to ear. Umino however, had uncurled and landed awkwardly, backside in the air while her face made acquaintance with what she now recognized as an air mattress.

. . . A giant, four foot tall air mattress bearing Urahara's face across the expanse of the surface.

Umino quickly righted herself so that she was sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her, glasses askew (they had, miraculously, not fallen off) with a dazed and disoriented expression on her face. She straightened her glasses and began to scan her surroundings analytically. Judging from the architectural style of the buildings around them, they were still in Japan. The area looked familiar, but was still too old-fashioned to be Karakura Town. Umino's brain finally put the pieces together.

"He didn't..." She murmured.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and a wave of black butterflies flew overhead as a voice boomed, "Ryoka in the Seireitei. All squads to their respective stations. I repeat, ryoka in the Seireitei. All squads to their respective stations." Umino sighed._ 'If I ever see that idiot again, I won't hesitate to kill him.' _An amused giggle interrupted Umino's murderous thoughts.

"Hehe, Umino. Watch this."

Kazoku jumped up and down a few times before launching herself high into the air. Flipping expertly, she landed with her feet sinking into the right eye of the image beneath them.

"I'm jumping on his face." She announced, hopping about and flipping every which way on the mattress. All the while she was singing "Crack, crack, crack! Let's break his nose! Fracture skull plates, snap the bones!" as she brought her heels down hard in her landings, lifting Umino off the mattress a good three feet with each jump. Umino's face was that of indifference while thoughts tumbled through her head. She paid no attention to the shinigami gathering around the mattress.

"Are... Are these the ryoka?"

"I think so..."

"They're unarmed... You sure?"

"Hell if I know."

The murmurs continued until a cry of surprise arose, caused by a flying chibi. The curly haired menace landed in a crouching position, eyes fixed on a hell butterfly above her. The shinigami around her took a few steps back as she jumped, missing the otherworldly insect. "Hehe, pretty butterfly." She giggled, jumping on the tips of her toes to swat at it. One brave soul stepped forward and drew his sword (bless the poor bastard...).

"Stand down ryoka!" he ordered, pointing the blade at her. She paid no attention, instead following the butterfly around in a circle. This of course bruised the ego of the lowly shinigami, seeing as he was male with a loud, brazen exterior with said ego of fragile glass inside. And so, in attempt to redeem himself, he moved to strike at the girl, bringing his blade down on her.

The world moved in high speed as the girl seemed to finally take notice of the blade. She sidestepped with a yelp, hopped up to brush noses with her attacker, giggled as the man froze at the close proximity, and head butted him in the chest.

"Whoops! Sorry Shinigami-kun!" She said in her typical child's voice as the man hit the ground. All chances of redeeming his pride were shattered into even smaller pieces with each skip the girl took after that accursed black butterfly. Many shinigami, getting over their amusement at their harmlessly felled comrade, chased after her with drawn swords, but with the girl's fascination, she either didn't notice them or didn't seem to care until the blades neared her. Then, she screeched like a banshee and took off in a panic.

Umino watched in disbelieving awe at her sister's actions. Her friend truly was odd. However, before she could think about this further, she felt the mattress shift beneath her. Someone had crawled onto it and was slowly approaching her. Rolling her eyes, she looked at the younger shinigami taking awkward steps on the less-than-solid surface. Raising his sword, her struck her with the blade.

Or... Tried to.

Because of the unstable surface, the accuracy of the blow was next to nothing and the blade punctured the mattress beside her. Said mattress gave a hiss and began to deflate. The young man tumbled to the ground with a grunt of pain, then rolled onto his back and looked up at Umino. She sighed and leaned down from her descending seat.

"You are a failure." She said, flicking him in the forehead. Then, leaving him to untangle his blade from the material, she began walking.

_'Now where did she go...?'_

Her eyes searched for her little sister, but the girl was nowhere to be found. The area was filled to the brim with confused and yelling shinigami, some noticing her but unable to reach her in the chaos. Minutes passed until finally, the underlings found enough sense to organize themselves and turn their weapons on her. She froze for a moment.

'Kazoku can take care of herself.'

And with that thought in mind. She unknowingly ran in the opposite direction Kazoku had gone, with a wave of black and steel in pursuit.

XxXxXxXxX

They were everywhere. Everywhere she turned, there were gleaming swords and seas of black fabric. 'Agh, how many shinigami are here anyway?' Kazoku thought as she weaved through the confusion, ducking and hopping about as metal swiped over her head or moved before her to block her path. 'Honestly people, I'm one human girl! The swords are not necessary!'

A vaguely familiar building loomed ahead and Kazoku skidded to a stop. 'That's the twelfth, isn't it?' She thought. 'Uh uh. Not risking it, no way, no how.' She turned and began running again, diving right through the team pursuing her. After kicking a few knees and sending various shinigami toppling into each other, she burst out of the group and took off at full speed in the opposite direction of the division she would rather commit suicide than enter.

'Crazy madman probably setting traps... Meaning if I don't hide _inside, _I'm as good as caught...'

She soon neared the gate of another division and immediately smiled. Slowing her pace, she flattened herself to the wall, watching the shinigami swarm about the entrance.

'Thirteenth. Hm... Ukitake Juushiro, right?' She mentally mulled over her knowledge of said division. 'Golden hearted captain, two bumbling third seats, no lieutenant.' Her mind strayed and she let out a cutesy laugh. 'Candy!'

She used this childish motivation to creep past the guards with no trace save a tiny giggle that left the shinigami glancing about in confusion. The chibi had a target; those low ranking underlings had already lost. Of course, she still had yet to encounter the captains...

She kept to the shadows as best she could, but she couldn't help but slip into the sunlight when the coast was clear. It felt pleasant on her skin and brought a smile to her lips. Umino could stick to the darkness, Kazoku was perfectly content with the warm rays.

Wandering around, the young girl searched for a hiding place. Somewhere that wouldn't be too hard to get out of, but not too easy to find. Of course, she could try the typical 'hide in plain sight' tactic but that could also very well turn out to scream 'Hey, look at me! I'm right here!' These people weren't that stupid... Well, at least some of them weren't.

The division was actually very quiet; its members were probably still searching the streets for her and Umino. 'I wonder if Umino's been caught already.' She thought as she looked around. The thought was immediately caught, strangled and torn to shreds by her common knowledge. If anything, Kazoku was going down first; she knew it. Umino would probably go out screaming, clawing, and biting, whereas Kazoku would shrug, go limp, and let herself be carried off. The chase was only fun until you got caught, in her opinion. After that, struggling never does much good unless you can actually overpower your captors.

She stopped before a particularly large building and tilted her head at it, wondering what might be inside. She felt three prickling sensations at the very top of her skull, one somewhat soothing while the other two bristled and nagged at her awareness. They were strange and unfamiliar feelings, beckoning her to follow them. Before she could debate this decision, she heard voices not far off. She quickly slid the first door she saw open and slipped through, closing it just as a team ran by, yelling to each other to find the intruding 'ryoka'.

She gave a sigh of relief and looked about the room she had entered. A spacious hallway, void of life, stretched out to her right. Many doorways lined it, as well as a few hallways branching off. One of the bristling feelings shifted, moving closer to her it seemed. Preferring to avoid it, she following the one soft, warm sensation down the opposite way. The second irritating feeling moved as well, approaching the first. Then the two stopped completely right as Kazoku did, standing before a large door at the end of the vast hallway.

Kazoku looked back over her shoulder in shock as the two prickling sensations intensified, moving closer. She threw the large door open without a thought and dove in, slamming it behind her. They were coming closer, they had found her... Not a surprise, but so soon? Of course, she hadn't been taking this whole thing very seriously anyway... I mean really, she had been doing flips on a giant inflatable mattress in the street. Serious was obviously not in her character.

"Hello there."

Kazoku jumped and her eyes snapped up, meeting with gentle green ones in the midst of a soft thin face and a friendly and slightly bemused smile. "I assume you're one of the ryoka?"

"H-how did you..."

The man, currently seated before a low table sipping at steaming tea, gestured to her, indicating the clothing she currently wore. She looked down at her blue shirt and jeans and slapped a palm to her forehead. "Right." She breathed, mentally berating her stupidity. "Uh, I guess you could call me a ryoka, but I don't-" Her eyes augmented as the door she was leaning on was thrown open and she was tackled to the ground.

"Ryoka scum! How dare you try assaulting our captain!" One of her attackers accused, securing her arms behind her back while the second bowed to the white haired man. "Oi! Lemme go!" Kazoku whined, wriggling about.

"We've secured the ryoka Ukitake-taicho!" The young woman announced loudly. "Permission to escort her to th-"

"That won't be necessary Kiyone-chan, Sentarō-kun. You can let her go." Ukitake smiled. Both third-seats looked up in surprise. "B-but taicho!"

"It's alright, I'm sure she isn't here to cause any trouble." The man waved a hand, his ongoing friendly smile still in place. Kazoku glowered up at the man holding her down and pushed herself up when her arms were reluctantly released. "Jerkface." She said childishly, sticking her tongue out. The needling sensations in her skull became more pronounced at the gesture and she rubbed her forehead in response. "Ow... Don't do that..."

Juushiro's face took on a questioning expression. "Kiyone-chan, Sentarō-kun. Could you two stand guard outside?" He asked, looking up at the third seats. They exchanged glances and sighed in unison, glaring at the 'intruder'. "H-hai taicho..." The two opened the door, sending wary glances over their shoulders as the eased the door shut.

"Tea?" Juushiro offered, gesturing to the table. Kazoku sat down and shook her head. "Don't like tea. Too bitter no matter how much sugar you drown it in."

Juushiro's eyes lit up and he reached into his sleeve, pulling out a large colored lollipop. "This then?"

Kazoku's eyes widened and she snatched the candy, wasting no time unwrapping it. Ukitake's eyes were alight as she sucked on the sugary sweet. "Much better." She giggled. "Thank you Ukitake-san!" She tilted her head cutely, then focused her attention on the candy in her hand. "This is really good." She paused. "So, I guess I gotta explain why I'm here, huh? I did kinda barge in and now I'm interrupting tea time. Isn't tea time supposed to be all peaceful? But I just ran in, and then those two had to be mean and tackle me. I'm probably gonna be all bruised 'cause of them." She rubbed her shoulder and frowned. "Nyah, what a pain..."

Juushiro gave a fatherly smile as she finished off the candy, sipping at his tea ever so often until she finished. "Num." She cooed, setting the lollipop stick on a napkin. She then folded her hands on the table and exhaled. "Alright. Ask away."

"Are you in any pain?" He questioned with a frown.

Kazoku tilted her head at the unexpected question. "Hm? No, not really. I mean, I have a little migraine but it's not that big a deal. Just this fuzzy feeling in my head, right here." She pointed to the top of her head. "Most of it's kinda like little needles, but the other part is really warm and honey-like."

"I see... And where are they coming from?"

Kazoku shrugged. "Heck if I know. But I dunno, the way you looked when I walked in makes me think it's from you." She pounded a fist on her open palm. "That would explain the needles. Your subordinates don't like me, and there's two of 'em. Makes sense."

Juushiro's frown softened. "You're sensing reiatsu." He said with a tone of relief.

"Oh? Really? Is it supposed to give you headaches or is that just m-" Kazoku froze, something inside her twisting. "Uh, is there a bathroom around here? I need it, now." She clamped a hand over her mouth, her other arm moving to wrap around her stomach.

"Through that door, two down to the right." Juushiro pointed to a door to his left and she jumped up and sprinted to it, throwing it open and dashing down the hall to the bathroom. She had barely reached the toilet when her stomach convulsed and emptied it's contents into the water. "Dear God..." She choked, coughing as bile rose in her throat, burning her. She held her hair back with one hand and gripped the rim of the bowl with the other.

"Kodomo-chan?" She heard; Ukitake was standing outside the door.

She lifted her head and managed to call "I'm alright," before her stomach clenched and she coughed and vomited up the last bits of the candy. "Ugh..." Her eyes watered as she stood and wiped her mouth with a bit of toilet paper. Releasing her hair, she took a deep breath and walked to the door, opening it slowly. The captain looked down at her with concern and she gave a nervous laugh. "Uh... I changed my mind... Can I have some tea?"

Ten minutes found the two reseated at the table, Kazoku gulping down the bitter tea to rid her throat of the vile taste. "Kinda a 'pick your poison' thing." She mumbled to herself. She gave an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry, I don't know what that was all about."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Juushiro asked. She gave a small smile. "I'll be okay Otou-san." She said in a small child's voice. This drew a large smile from the man, a smile that faded to understanding when Kazoku went rigid, turning her head towards the door right before a knock resounded from it. "Come in." Ukitake called and the door slid open. A flutter of a pink kimono and a tip of a straw hat and a third person joined their table.

"Figures that the cute ones always come to you, eh Ukitake?" The man gave a hearty laugh and ruffled the girl's hair. Said girl relaxed, wrinkling her nose and smoothing her hair. "Your reiatsu feels like... Zen fountain. The kind with incense." Kazoku observed. She put a finger to her bottom lip. "Lemme guess, felt my reiatsu here?"

"Yeah, though I wasn't expecting..." The man trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it.

"A little girl?" Kazoku offered. He nodded and Kazoku giggled. "Ah well. I'm not usually what people expect, so it's okay. And besides, the reactions I'll get when I have to see the sou-taicho will be pretty fun to watch." She feigned a look of ignorance. "And who are you, taicho-kun?"

"Kyouraku Shunsui. And you?"

She put a hand to her lips. "Whoops! That was kinda rude, huh? I just intruded on you guys and didn't even say my name!" She gave a bubbly laugh. "I'm Karasukami Kazoku. Nice to meet you both!"

XxXxXxXxX

Umino continued to run, doing whatever she could to lose the pursuing shinigami. As she continued to run, she eventually lost track of which way she had come from in the impossible and unnecessary maze that made up the Seireitei. She took a sharp left turn and flattened herself against the wall, concealing herself within the shadows. It was a good thing her pursuers had been exceedingly low-ranking, otherwise they might have had the sense to scan the area for her reiatsu instead of just bypassing her hiding place like they did.

As soon as she was clear, Umino took off again, not having any idea where the hell she was going. After a while she slowed down to take a breather and a moment to think. Bad idea. The ground below her began to tremble and, working on instinct, she leaped forward as the ground below her gave way. A cowardly trap such as this could only be the work of the twelfth division. The twelfth division shinigami had now begun the chase with nets and chains (and who knows what the hell the other devices were) in hand, ready to capture her for their sick twist of a captain. Once again, Umino found herself running for her life, avoiding the elaborate traps that had been set out for her.

She came to a crossroad, frantically trying to decide which way to go. "Are you fucking kidding me!" muttered Umino as she saw a bunch of blood-thirsty shinigami approaching her from the left. Eleventh divisioners, no doubt about it. Umino turned right to find the path blocked by the tenth division shinigami. She ran forward at the last second, letting the tenth and eleventh division collide behind her. Suddenly, the sound of hinges and latches coming undone was heard, followed by the yells of the shinigami. Glancing back, she saw that the center of the intersection had folded in on itself to reveal a deep, dark chasm, into which the poor underlings had fallen, some making a sad attempt to crawl back out. Umino smiled wryly. 'Thank you twelfth division.'

She cautiously approached the edge of the pit, peering down to look at the shinigami. Umino laughed and began to kick rubble over the edge, her mirth growing each time a rock managed to hit one of them. In the midst of her mocking them, the side began to tremble under her feet and she jumped back as a chunk of the wall crumbled away. "Okay, I get it karma, I'm done now!" she called, turning swiftly from the hole to continue wandering aimlessly through the Seireitei.

Umino slowed her pace to a casual walk, taking in her surroundings. It was awkwardly quiet now that she wasn't being chased anymore. She sighed. 'Kazoku, where the heck are you?' Umino frowned, worried about her sister's whereabouts.

The bespectacled girl turned a corner, only to bump into the solid chest of a soul reaper. She tilted her head up slowly, taking in the choker necklace of the obviously male shinigami. Umino's eyes widened as she viewed the face frowning down at her. It was impossible for her not to recognize him, after all, how could you forget the face of a lieutenant with a sex position tattooed on his cheek?

Umino smiled nervously as she backed away from Shuuhei. "Hehe, oops. Sorry 'bout that." Hisagi eyed her suspiciously as his right hand went to grasp his zanpakuto. "Ryoka." He muttered. Umino locked her eyes onto Kazeshini in fear. "Umm, alright then. I'm gonna start running as fast as I can now. Okay bye!" She yelled, sprinting in the opposite direction of the ninth division lieutenant.

"Oh God, I hate running." The exhausted girl glanced behind herself to see Shuuhei successfully following and gaining on her. Umino stopped, holding up one finger to Shuuhei, as she bent over with one hand on her knee, breathing heavily. Hisagi paused in confusion. "Okay. Timeout. Just." She inhaled. "Just wait a sec. I think I'm gonna pass out here. Ugh, I can't breath!" Getting over his momentary lapse of confusion, Shuuhei restarted the chase. Umino jumped up and started running (again) when she realized he wasn't going to give her a break. "Hey! That's not fair, I called timeout! Gah, stupid Mr. 69!"

Turning around the corner she noticed a young shinigami. He wore a green medicine pack, indicating that he was from the fourth, had black hair that hung down to his chin, and timid chibi eyes to match his expression. Oh yeah, Umino recognized this one as well. She also realized that she was on a collision course with him and, at the pace she was going, she wouldn't be able to stop in time.

Umino ran smack into the seventh seat, bringing both of them rolling to the ground in a jumbled mess. Dazed and off balance, all Umino could think was 'Shit, Kazoku's gonna kill me for hurting Hanatarou!' All she heard from him was the repeated phrase of "I'm sorry! Gomenasai!"

The ill-tempered girl slowly got up only to find that Shuuhei had caught up to her. Still reeling from the collision, Umino was unable to escape as he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled it behind her.

Umino was pissed, she did not like being manhandled. Turning swiftly, she swiped at his face, her nails leaving deep gashes on his 69. Shuuhei grabbed her other arm, efficiently protecting himself from her claws. Pissed, Umino resorted to viciously biting and kicking the hell out of him. She clamped her teeth onto his left shoulder, her inhumanly sharp canines drawing blood.

Looking over Shuuhei's shoulder, she saw reinforcements approaching. "Restrain this ryoka girl!" Hisagi called over his shoulder. The lesser shinigami approached, grabbing her legs and trying to pry her teeth off of their lieutenant. One of the shinigami's hold on her leg slid a little too high for her liking so, with an unknown burst of reaitsu, Umino released her hold on Shuuhei with a guttural growl.

Her reaitsu was enough to make them loosen their hold and she was able to free both her legs and an arm. Hisagi still kept a tight grip on the other arm, leaving her hanging in the air. Umino lashed out, kicking and screaming, trying to bring down at least one of them.

When Umino was successfully restrained, the wielder of Kazeshini glared at Umino. "We'll take her to the captain's meeting. They can decide how to deal with her."

* * *

*sigh* Poor Hana-kun, he's still out there!

Okay, so this chapter is actually part of the original chapter, split in two 'cause it was so long. So, be happy! The next part goes up... Possibly tomorrow. But we need reviews first. They are the life force that enables us to click buttons in order to publish. So... Don't let us die! ... Please?

We love you people who have put up with our stupid stalling on posting. Please see the author's note at the beginning of the chapter to see our list of excuses. We love you all. :P


	8. Chapter 8

Authoress' Note: Ok, well, we kinda already had this chapter written up... But dear God, two chapters in such a small timeframe... So yeah there's not anything new to say. Same complaints as the last authoress' note.

So, read, enjoy, and review or else Umino will viciously bite your head off with her strange teeth!

Oh! Wait! Disclaimer. *Ahem* Bleach does not belong, in any way, shape or form, to Umino, Kazoku, or their creators. We just like twisting things around and cackling like madmen at the results. Much like the fish we dissected today... Nummy. :P

**EDIT: **Chapters 1-4 have been edited (spellchecking, a few added paragraphs, etc.) We apologize for any false update alerts due to the edited chapters.

* * *

The captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13 were assembled before the sou-taicho, waiting quietly for the remaining members to arrive. The first two of those missing strode through the door with amused smiles a good fifteen minutes late. Comfortably riding on the back of the first, a brunette with a pink kimono, was one of the two ryoka girls. The cute young girl peeked over his shoulder, head half hidden beneath his hat, and gave a tiny wave. She then resumed sucking on a colorful lollipop provided by the second man beside her, who had long snow white hair and a gentle expression.

The girl pulled the lollipop from her mouth. "Hi everyone!" She greeted as if she was perfectly familiar with all surrounding her. She slid off Shunsui's back and bowed her head to him. "Thanks for the ride here. I woulda gotten lost on my own." She laughed. The man chuckled and tipped his hat. "My pleasure."

She rocked back and forth on her heels as two guards took the places of the two captains on either side of her. "Sooo, where's my onee-chan?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "You caught her too, right?"

Before she could be answered, the door opened once more and Hisagi Shuuhei walked in with a deep scratch over his peculiar tattoo and a savage bite mark on his right shoulder. Following behind him were six guards, all restraining a growling and hissing creature that snapped with her canines bared whenever one neared her face.

"Oooooh... Shame on you, you made her mad." Kazoku said, shaking her head at the feral beast of a girl that struggled to free herself from her restraints. "Umi-chan, they'll let you go if you calm down. If ya keep doing that they might pull your teeth out."

Umino didn't acknowledge the advice and continued to struggle until her eyes registered the captains before her, particularly a younger looking shinigami with a shock of white hair and teal eyes. She went limp and stared at him for a minute before lowering her eyes to the ground with a pink face. Kazoku clapped.

"Good job!" She teased and spun on her heel to face the sou-taicho. "Everyone's here now, so we gonna start the meeting or what, Jii-san?"

The old captain gave the girl a hard look for a long while before he proceeded to begin the meeting. "I call this meeting of the captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13 to order. Our first and most important matter regards these two ryoka."

"With all due respect Jii-san, my name is Karasukami Kazoku and it'd be nice if that's what you'd call me. Ryoka makes me sound like a criminal." Kazoku stated with an innocent face. "Why don'cha introduce yourself onee-chan?" She added, looking over at Umino.

"Akadoragon Umino." The girl mumbled, her face still red. Occasionally she would steal glances at the captain of squad ten, but otherwise didn't move anymore.

"As a prisoner, you should think to speak to your superiors with the proper respect ryoka." Soifon said coldly. Kazoku stomped her foot like a child and pointed accusingly at the woman. "It's Kazoku! Ka-zo-ku! Say it with me! Ka-ra-su-ka-mi-Ka-zo-ku!" When the woman simply glared icily at her, she crossed her arms and pouted. "Baka, can't say a name right... Can't train her division either, by the way. Quantity, no quality..."

"Kazoku-chan, you shouldn't say such things, especially now." Juushiro said with a nervous laugh. Kazoku sighed and bowed politely to him.

"Hai Ukitake-taicho... Gomenasai."

Perplexed looks showed on many faces at her sudden change of attitude. She righted herself and turned to the sou-taicho. "Gomenasai sou-taicho. I won't interrupt anymore."

"Very well." The old man replied, obviously a bit irked by the girl. "As previously stated, the main purpose of this meeting regards the presence of these ryoka." Kazoku facepalmed at this, still irritated that her name was not being used. "Our first concern is the method by which they arrived in the Seireitei, managing to bypass the gate and all security measures."

"Oh! I can answer that easy!" Kazoku said, raising her hand and waving it rapidly. With a small exhale of air, the sou-taicho nodded to her. "Well, ya see, Umino and I were attacked by a really weird creature in our hometown. Creepy thing with glowing silver tentacles that turned everything completely white. Don't know what happened after that, but we woke up in Karakura and I got hit in the head with a baseball." Kazoku frowned and rubbed her head. "Still bruised too."

Umino spoke up. "We wandered around and found a candy shop soon after. The owner was Urahara-san, though whether fortunately or unfortunately, we aren't sure. He took care of us for a few days while he got a portal ready to send us home."

Kazoku cut in at this. "Before we left, he gave me a black box with a button on it, and told me to push it once we got to the other side."

Umino looked up suddenly and she turned her head turned to meet her sister's eyes. "What?" She yelled angrily. "Why didn't you tell me about that? Strange buttons and anything affiliated with Urahara means trouble!"

Kazoku rolled her eyes. "Becaaaaause, Umi-chan, it was a big red button. If I told you about it, I wouldn't have been able to push it." Assuming that was enough of an explanation, she continued the story.

"Next thing we knew, we were hurtling through the air. After a bit I pushed the button and dropped it, and it started to fall." She paused. "Which didn't make much sense, because it fell faster than I did and gravity exerts the same amount of force on all objects despite the mass, so I don't understand why it fell faster than me. Of course, that scientific law does not take outside forces into account, so I assume that was a contributing factor. That, and it might have quite possibly been denser than me, or perhaps Urahara developed it with a sensitivity to gravitational forces-"

Umino suddenly coughed violently, and the words 'science geek' could be picked out from her outburst. Kazoku turned and glared at her while a majority of the captains addressed the girl with questioning looks regarding her odd rant. The remaining leaders simply looked on with apathy, their emotions supressed as per usual.

"What? You're thinking like a twelfth division member. No normal person thinks about scientific laws when they're plummeting towards the ground at high speeds to their deaths."

"I am so normal, I just think differently than you do."

"Whatever, just get on with your story. I'm still pissed at you."

Kazoku stuck her tongue out and turned to face the captains once more. "Anyway... I pushed the button and the box exploded into a really fun bouncy mattress. But the jerks you call subordinates slashed it with their zanpakuto! What a waste... It was really good for flips."

There was silence for a while. "Anything you need to add Umi-chan?" Kazoku asked. The girl in question didn't answer and settled for glaring fiery daggers at her sister, who shrunk back. "Okay, I guess not." She looked back towards the captains and gave a shrug. "Weeeeeell, that's all we know. Nothing really special 'cept we were sent here by Urahara-san. So there's no reason to hold us as criminals or prisoners, since we didn't arrive by choice."

"Even so, you resisted and attempted escaping the shinigami pursuing you." Hisagi spoke up. Umino glared at him. "'Resisted?' 'Attempted escape'? No shit sixty nine! What the hell do you expect me to do when I'm being chased by a freak waving a sword at me?"

Kazoku sighed and turned around, nodding to each of her guards before approaching Umino. She rested two fingertips on Umino's forehead in a gentle gesture and met her sister's eyes. "You aren't acting like yourself onee-chan. We should try to solve the problems we have, not cause more. And biting the lieutenants or cursing at them isn't helping us. Calm down."

Umino frowned a trademark Ichigo frown and turned her head away. "Fine." She grumbled. Kazoku smiled and reverted back to her chibi demeanor. "Good. No more problems then!"

Numerous eyebrows raised at the repeated change of attitude, as well as the compliance of the older girl. The guards cautiously lowered her to the ground, letting her stand on her own but still keeping a firm grip on her arms. Two of those guards retreated and left the hall.

Kazoku spun on her heel, having silently declared herself the spokesperson for her and her 'sister'. "Alright, so all you need to do is get us back to Urahara-san and we'll be on our way!"

"You are not in the position to issue orders ryoka." A monotonous voice said. Kazoku's eyes rose and looked to meet the eyes of none other than Kuchiki Byakuya. His gaze could send many to their knees in terror, yet Kazoku simply stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ryoka, ryoka, ryoka. People have names for a reason Kuchiki-taicho." She said, standing up to her full height (sadly, it could not quite measure up to Byakuya's). She put one hand on her hip and the other in a typical Urahara wave position, the lollipop stick held between her thumb and her palm. "Rather than annoying me by calling me by the name you give to trespassing criminals, you could make this whole thing run much more smoothly by simply calling me 'Kazoku'. But, if wasting your time and the time of everyone else is so much fun for you, then be my guest and continue. But I'm warning you now that I am a stubborn child and I'm only going to make this more difficult for all of you if you do." Sadly, her naturally childish voice took all the bite out of the rant.

"It is a wonder that I even bother to address you at all, ryoka. You truly are a child if you cannot understand the severity of your words. Before you are esteemed captains, and yet you speak to us with the utmost disrespect without giving thought to what you are saying. Instead you give orders as if you were our superior. You are not stubborn so much as utterly foolish."

Kazoku rolled her eyes. "I apologize, oh mighty Kuchiki, for not being a perfect being with limitless intelligence and grace. I'm afraid that, being a fourteen year old human girl, I cannot measure up to the god-on-high expectations that you have for those around you." She gave a mocking bow.

Before the man could reply, Umino groaned. "Shut up already. We have better things to do than listen to you argue." She looked up at the men holding her arms. "And will you let up on the grip? You're bruising me."

"You'll be released when you aren't regarded as a threat." Hitsugaya said, lips pulled down in a scowl. Umino's mouth snapped shut and she turned pink one more, deciding that the floor was suddenly extremely interesting. Kazoku giggled behind her hand and murmured something along the lines of 'how cute', which was immediately retorted with 'shut the fuck up' and multiple mumbles too quiet and foreign to be understood by these poor doomed souls currently trying to make sense of the situation.

"Alright, alright, I'm done laughing at you." Kazoku said, stifling the giggles as Umino started struggling again, yelling obscenities and insincere death threats at her sister. The two had now completely tuned the captains out, not hearing any of the attempts to draw their attention back. After a long while of migraine-inducing quarreling, the sou-taicho prepared to unleash his reiatsu to gain their awareness of their precarious situation. However, he stopped a split second before he did so as the older of the two growled at the younger.

"You know what? You're a little-" Umino stopped, her eyebrows furrowing. She looked around the room in confusion, then closely examined each of the four guards holding her arms. "The hell...?"

"What?"

"Listen. You hear that?"

Kazoku's body went still, all muscles tense and locked into place to prevent movement, her ears straining to hear. And there it was; a faint whispering at the base of her skull. She tilted her head. "Oh!"

"You hear it?"

"Yeah... But I don't like it... Sounds like someone's drowning a pup."

"Huh. I hear a dragon drinking molten lava."

"How would you know what that sounds like?"

"Just trust me."

"Yes, trust the voices in our heads, when has that ever worked? I mean, you're still trying to fight off your schizo-Karl-bat(1)."

"This is different. Just, shush."

The captains exchanged glances, realization coming over all but the unfortunate Zaraki-taicho. This realization turned to concern. If these girls harbored such things as the spirit of a zanpakuto...

"Karasukami! Akadoragon!" The sou-taicho's voice echoed off the barren walls, finally breaking through the sound barrier the two girls seemed to have erected during their bickering. They lifted their heads to look at him, then Kazoku broke into applause.

"Finally! You used my name!"

The old man gave a low grunt and she stopped mid-clap. "Gomenasai."

Yamamoto nodded his head towards the guards, who in turn released Umino, bowed politely, and left the room silently. The two girls stood side by side before the Gotei 13 captains.

"It seems that you ryoka possess a considerable amount of reiatsu." Yamamoto began.

"Yeah, Quincy-san said somethin' like that." Kazoku said then bit her lip at the looks she got. "Gomenasai. Interrupted again..."

"As retribution for the damage you've caused, as well as for trespassing in the Seireitei and causing unrest and injury among our subordinates, you two will be placed in confinement until arrangements can be made regarding your situation."

The girls' jaws dropped, and after a moment of dead silence, they simultaneously burst into a rant of anger.

"That is completely ridiculous! It wasn't even our choice to come here, and everyone who got hurt were injured at their own fault!" They said together, neither taking notice of the other speaking. "Kurosaki broke into the Seireitei, to stop an execution no less, and you made him a substitute shinigami! How is that fair to us?"

Those in the room looked around as the temperature rose considerably, and yet clouds were gathering outside, threatening to break open and drench the land below. Thunder rumbled in the distance and beads of sweat erupted from the skin of every captain. Each one reached out with their own reiatsu (excluding Zaraki of course) and gradually brought the wild reiatsu of the ryoka into a state of stability. The girls stopped to catch their breath, then exchanged glances of surprise, disbelief, and slight awe after realizing what they had just done.

"We're definitely being put in jail now, aren't we." Umino said.

"Yup." Kazoku answered.

"Dammit."

"They did have a good point Yama-jii." Shunsui said. The man in question turned his head to his former student.

"Ichigo-kun was given the title of substitute shinigami, and caused a lot more damage than these two."

"Instead of confinement, they could be given a similar position." Juushiro offered.

"Unaceptable." Kurotsuchi countered. "These two brats are obviously not worth the trouble. They are weak and have no control over their reiatsu-"

"That isn't the issue, Kurotsuchi-taicho. They are mere children-" Komamura began.

"Why does their age have any influence on the matter?" Hitsugaya bit out.

"Age means nothing. The question is whether they would be assets to the Gotei 13, or dead weight in need of constant surveillance and protection. Though, by what I've seen, the second seems more evident."

"That's a bit harsh, Soifon-taicho." Shunsui said, clicking his tongue.

"Enough!" The sou-taicho rumbled, causing the room to fall silent. Kazoku whistled, earning her a dark foreboding stare and she let her gaze drop to the floor, the whistle dying at her lips.

"We will hold a vote, seeing as we cannot come to an agreement." The man said. "Those who are for the confinement of the ryoka, stand at my left. Those opposed, to my right. This vote will not be repeated and its result is not up for negotiation."

The girls watched as the captains took their sides. One the left stood Soifon, Byakuya, and Kurotsuchi, while Unohana, Juushiro, Shunsui, and Zaraki stood on the right. Komamura and Toushiro hesitated at the center, but with one last glance at the ryoka, Toushiro stepped to the left. This action made Umino visibly deflate, which only made Kazoku giggle.

Komamura looked down at the two girls. They returned his look evenly, a trace of hope in each pair of young eyes. Finally coming to the conclusion that children such as these did not deserve to be put in prison, he moved to the right side.

"It is decided." Yamamoto announced. "The ryoka will not be placed in confinement and will receive training in controlling their reiatsu until we are able to contact Urahara Kisuke and arrange their return."

"Sou-taicho, this is a dangerous decision. How do we know that they will not attempt to-"

"As I said, this matter is not up for negotiation, Soifon-taicho. However, your concern is noted. Each ryoka will be assigned to a captain who will oversee their training. Until they complete this training, they will remain in their captain's division under constant supervision." The man paused, shifting his eyes to the dark haired woman. "Also, I advise that you refrain from speaking out of turn, Soifon-taicho."

The woman reluctantly backed down, realizing that further arguing would worsen the situation. Kazoku raised her hand.

"Can I stay with Ukitake-taicho?"

Attention moving back to her, she shrank under the looks, her previous bubbly confidence dissipating. "U-Uh, if that's okay..." She mumbled, then stuck her lollipop back into her mouth. Juushiro's expression told everyone that he was more than willing to accept the girl into his division, but the sou-taicho, unfortunately, had another idea.

"You will be assigned to a captain who will be best suited for the task." He said, in no uncertain terms meaning 'a captain who will be able to keep you on a short leash'.

"I'll take one of them Yama-jii." Shunsui said, raising a hand halfheartedly. Yamamoto denied the request with a stern look before turning his eyes to two of the division leaders on his left.

"Kuchiki-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Hai, sou-taicho." Toushiro said. Byakuya's eyes shifted to meet the head captain's.

"I assume you both will be capable of controlling these two."

Both seemed to contemplate the request, looking over at the two girls. Said girls were looking at each other with gleams in their eyes, obviously pleased with the decision. Now there was only the matter of the two agreeing... Of course, given the look in Yamamoto's eyes, it wasn't something up for discussion.

"We will take charge of the ryoka." Toushiro said, albeit irritably. Just what he needed, two slackers lazing about his office. Looking over them, he wondered which would be sent to his division. The first one seemed somewhat tolerable, except for that giggle and other features that he feared meant that he'd have a mini Matsumoto on his hands. But, analyzing the other girl, his nose wrinkled. She was obviously very similar to Abarai-fukitaicho, what with her violent tendencies and brash exterior. And judging from the previous outburst, she was a being of fire. No, she couldn't be sent to his division; they would clash to the point of bringing the entire barracks to the ground.

Byakuya was also scrutinizing the young girls, his thoughts those of distaste. Both girls seemed equally troublesome, though he was almost certain that the one in blue would not be a wise choice in charges. He had had quite enough of young brats invading his space with high pitched giggles and obsessions with candy; next thing he knew, the girl would be chasing after his koi or sabotaging his paperwork. The other, though she was obviously one with a temper, seemed very much like his own fukitaicho. Their similarities were evident with her entrance, and Byakuya thought it safe to assume that her kido control would be just as horrific as the redhead's.

"Karasukami. You will be under Hitsugaya-taicho's guidance and surveillance. See to it that you do not cause him unnecessary trouble." The sou-taicho said, ignoring Umino's downcast look. "Akadoragon. Kuchiki-taicho has been assigned to you. You will be punished severely if you attempt to harm anyone."

Umino gaped in disbelief at his accusation, then slowly the words sunk in and she gave an 'eeeehhh...' and a face that obviously said that she understood the reasoning for the threat, especially after looking at the beautiful semicircle of torn flesh on Shuuhei's shoulder. Kuchiki and Hitsugaya inwardly sighed in relief; the sou-taicho had apparently seen the disadvantages of sending Akadoragon to the tenth or Karasukami to the sixth.

"I expect frequent reports on their progress as well as any other information you find." Yamamoto said to the two captains, who nodded. Kuchiki seemed to realize something at that moment and turned to address the ryoka.

"How were you aware of the execution halted by Kurosaki Ichigo?"

The question froze the two in their places. All eyes turned questioningly to them and Umino scratched the back of her head, a lie formulating in her mind. "Funny story actually... You see, Kazoku's really good with computers, so she sort of got into Urahara's files."

"In my defense, Urahara clearly said we had freedom to use anything we could get into. And considering the man can't be all that out of his mind, I'm pretty sure he weakened the security so I could get in." Kazoku added, picking up on the story immediately. Her expression was that of a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"I see." The noble said, not looking convinced, but not calling them out on their fib either.

"Are there any more who wish to speak?" Yamamoto inquired. When no one answered, the sound of his cane hitting the wooden floor announced the official end of the meeting.

"Dismissed." Some of the captains moved to leave, while Kuchiki, Hitsugaya, and Zaraki stayed behind a bit longer.

Umino approached the Kuchiki, looking him over. "Hm." She said, nodding her head in what he guessed was approval. He gave her a cold glare, which she simply waved off. "Just telling you now, I've lived with the chibi over there and her sparkly eyes for years. Your ice daggers aren't going to work on me. I've grown immune to expressions of the eyes." She said, meeting his gaze with utter boredom. He held the look for a bit longer, then gracefully strode past her, wordlessly telling her to follow.

She rolled her eyes and moved to follow the man, sharing a look with Kazoku. The two girls muttered the well known words under their breath. "What am I doing here again? Oh yes, walking around aimlessly with grace(2)."

Kazoku shook her head, giggled, and waved as her sister left. She then skipped over to her new mentor, eyes already searching his frame with an analytical eye.

"Huh..." Kazoku murmured. He shot her an icy stare. "What?"

"I've never met someone of higher ranking and shorter stature than me. It's kind of fascinating." She said. Toushiro's eye visibly twitched, fury boiling in his chest at the comment. "Ya know, 'cause you look all cute and innocent, but if someone insults you, bam! They get their butts kicked." She said. His anger froze in it's place as he debated whether to take the comment as an insult or a compliment. She giggled and rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Don't worry Hitsugaya-taicho. It's always better to be small and sweet looking. Then," she brought a finger to her lips, "no one suspects you." She laughed as he raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I guess you're in charge of me now, huh? Can we go look at the division now? I wanna explore."

Tiny feet were heard pattering across the floor and Kazoku ducked as a pink blur dove over her head. "Ken-chan! You're taking too long!" A voice whined, coming from the tiny pinkette now perched beside the man's head.

"Hold on a minute, brat." The warrior rumbled, then looked down at Hitsugaya. "Bring 'er by the eleventh sometime, a'right?"

"Why would I do that?" The tiny captain retorted, not at all intimidated by the monster of a man standing over him. Kazoku gave a sly smile.

"'Cause the small cute ones are always the little demons, Hitsugaya-taicho. Didn't ya know? I'm guessing Zaraki-taicho wants to see if I can fight."

There was a small tug on Kazoku's sleeve and she looked not that far down at Yachiru, who had hopped off Kenpachi's shoulder. "What kind of candy is that?" She asked, pointing at the lollipop Kazoku was holding that had yet to be finished.

"Oh! It's a blue raspberry lollipop. They're my favorites 'cause they turn my tongue blue." She stuck out her tongue. "See?"

Yachiru giggled. "I want one!"

"Well I got this from Ukitake-taicho, you'd have to ask him. 'Cause this one is mine and you can't have it." Kazoku put the lollipop in her mouth to emphasize her point.

"But anyway, sure, I'll stop by." She said in a cutesy voice, now addressing Kenpachi. "Make sure your rats can take a hit, 'kay?"

The man gave a feral grin. "They wouldn't be in the eleventh if they couldn't. I'd kill 'em first."

"True, true." Kazoku nodded.

"Ken-chan~! We gotta catch up with Juu-chan! I want candy!" Yachiru whined, pulling on the man's arm, then climbing up it to his shoulder. "Come ooooon!"

"I heard ya the first time!" He growled. Nodding to Kazoku and Toushiro, he left the hall with little Yachiru whining in his ear.

"I hope you realize you aren't going there." Toushiro said as they left the hall as well. Kazoku crossed her arms and smiled.

"I know. But flat out refusing wouldn't have been a good idea, ne? I don't fight much anyway, unless it's with my siblings. I don't like hurting people." She paused. "Though I really don't like that Soifon person. Who put her in charge anyway, butting in with her opinions..."

Toushiro rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "If you are to stay in the tenth division, there are-"

"Rules? I bet. Lemme guess some." The girl held out both hands and began counting on her fingers. "No interrupting your work, no slacking, no sake in the office, no ditching your paperwork or slipping it into the captain's work, no making excuses, no destructive behavior, tea is to be served without excessive sugar or sweets and if you break something, you replace it."

The boy stared at her and she shrugged. "I talked to Ukitake-san about the divisions. And I also know that I just about nailed Matsumoto's personality, correct?"

Toushiro scowled and kept walking with the young girl in tow.

"You know, you would have been better off with Umino. It's obvious that you don't like me." Kazoku sighed.

"I don't know you."

"But you're glaring at me like you're wishing the ground would swallow me up. Or is that just your default expression?"

"Shut up."

Kazoku rolled her eyes, hoping Umino was alright with stick-up-the-you-know-what Kuchiki.

Meanwhile, said Kuchiki was mentally questioning his original assumption of Akadoragon's personality. She was unusually quiet on their walk to the division, her apathetic gaze rivaling his own. '_Does that mean she bears resemblance to...'_

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud outburst of "fuck!" followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground. "Dammit!" He looked over his shoulder to see the girl on the ground, holding her ankle. A rock the size of his palm sat at her feet. "Screw you!" She yelled, throwing the rock into the wall of a nearby building, smiling triumphantly as it broke into smaller pieces.

No. He had been correct. This girl was exactly like Abarai. She in no way, shape, or form, had any resemblance to himself.

* * *

(1) You see, dear Umino suffers from schizophrenia. Or at least that's what the voices tell her. Anyway, it's a running joke between the two of us. She has a little Karl-bat (Blood+ FTW!) and Kazoku has a Mori-bat (Mori from Ouran with little wings).

(2) Can't remember what YouTube video this was from. But it was amazing and all credit goes to it's creator for its amazing...ness. Is that a word? O.o


	9. Chapter 9

Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords13: Ahehe... Hi there... Um... *nervous giggle* So how long has it been...? Three months? Four? Aheh, so... You know how summer comes and you think you're gonna get stuff done... And you don't...? Yeah... In my defense, there are a lot of good animes out there! Who am I kidding, that's no excuse... Gomenasai, I'm sorry! But we're back, and I'm inspired again! I lost faith, but I have it back!

Moonwhisper22: Seriously, she was acting like a spaz on crack when she finished her chapter piece this morning. It was a little scary. I, on the other hand, had my piece written a looong time ago... It was... Just in a notebook. Under my bed.

Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords13: Anyway, read on! Please, don't give up on us!

* * *

Kazoku sat rigid in her seat, wringing her hands continually as her eyes drifted about searching for something, anything to focus her attention on. The absence of noise was far more grating on her nerves than nails on a chalkboard to fragile eardrums. Her thumbs twirled in a mindless dance around each other before separating along with her hands. Said hands moved to rest on her lap, fingers tapping at her thighs in a sporadic lack of rhythm.

The two commanding officers of this particular division did nothing to assist her obvious discomfort.

The first sat at his desk. His mind was lost among the forms and documents littering its surface that Kazoku honestly could care less about. The sweeps of his brush across the papers were smooth and defined, making little noise as he shaped ink into words. Every few minutes the faint swiping of the inked brush would come to a halt and the shuffling of paper signaled the placement of another sheet on the 'completed' pile at his right and the retrieval of the next. Kazoku twitched when her ears picked up these subtle sounds. They weren't enough to vanquish her unease.

The second sat at her desk as well. Rather than pay mind to the folders and such spread across her desktop, her gaze remained set on the window. One elbow rested on the polished wood, the hand of that same arm gently cupping her cheek. Given the distant look in her eyes, Kazoku knew that the window held none of the woman's interest. Rather, a different scene was playing beyond that clear glass that Kazoku could only imagine. Had she been less anxious she would have extended words of comfort to the lieutenant.

Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, Kazoku tapped her foot steadily to give her breathing a base rhythm.

"Karasukami."

Kazoku's foot froze mid-tap. The captain didn't even look up as he spoke, but the temperature dropped a degree in warning.

This cold manner of addressing her had not changed since they departed from the first division. Their light banter had dispersed to an icy awkward silence, which had been only the beginning of Kazoku's nervousness. And, since she was no longer humoring a group of adults that she could easily convince to buy into her seemingly easygoing nature, her giggles and smiles had long since receded. Toushiro seemed annoyed by them anyway.

"Toushiro?"

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho, ryoka."

She latched onto the tone of his voice. Irritation she could handle. Drawing it forth was second nature to her, an art form even. Tension diffused from her body and the corner of her mouth drew upward slightly.

"Toushi-taicho?"

She grinned nervously at the glare sent over his shoulder. "Fine fine, Hitsugaya-taicho." She said. "So, you'll be training me from now on?"

"I assumed you would have picked that up when I was given authority over you."

Kazoku didn't reply for a while, trying to find words. It didn't help that she possessed no tact or insight on the emotions of others.

"Um… Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"What Karasukami."

"… Never mind."

The rest of the walk to the Tenth Division had been void of speech. The next break in silence came when Kazoku stepped through the Tenth Division gates, emitting a quiet 'ooooh…' as she looked around. The main buildings rose up before them, with trees lining the paths leading beyond. Her curiosity was piqued.

As if sensing this, Toushiro halted her with an extended arm. "You are not permitted for any reason to leave my sight without an escort."

The girl gaped and her shyness temporarily gave way to anger. "B-But… But that isn't fair!" She protested. "I'm not a prisoner; I should at least be able to look around a little! Who knows how long I'll be-"

"You will stay nearby." He cut off and proceeded toward one of the buildings. Kazoku's expression settled into a light glare as she trudged after him, which was ultimately replaced by a nervous smile directed at the ground in front of her as her presence drew the glances of multiple division members. She was relieved to see no fear; there were only perplexed and curious glances, and one pair of leering eyes following her curvy frame. She mentally rolled her eyes. 'Home or Japan, living world or Seireitei. The eyes are everywhere…'

It was only when Hitsugaya stopped outside a door and slid it open that Kazoku looked up.

A buzzing feeling erupted in her skull. She flinched and braced herself against the doorframe, momentarily unnoticed by the captain as he stepped into the room and stood beside the couch in the center, where a well-endowed woman was unceremoniously sprawled across the cushions.

"Matsumoto…" He sighed with an unsurprised yet aggravated tone. The woman didn't respond.

"Matsumoto." He said again, his fingers twitching. A light snore came from her and she rolled to face the back of the couch. His trembling fingers clenched into fists and he drew in a deep breath.

"MATSUMOTO!"

The yell startled the woman into consciousness. Her hands immediately rose to hold her ample chest within the confines of her kosode as she sprang from the couch. "T-taicho!"

The vein on Toushiro's forehead pulsed erratically as he closed his eyes in irritation. "I assume you didn't complete any of your work in the time I was gone?"

"W-Well, I was going to, but-" She paused and looked past her captain. "Taicho?"

Hitsugaya looked over his shoulder to see Kazoku still leaning against the doorframe. She was holding her head with one hand, face pinched in discomfort as she placed her other hand against the wall to keep herself steady.

"Karasukami, what are you doing?" He questioned. She looked up and gave a half-smile.

"Trying not to throw up on your floor… Just gimme a minute, it'll pass." She answered, pushing herself off the wall and standing upright, taking profound breaths to settle herself. "Alright, I should be good."

Rangiku pushed past Toushiro and put her hands on Kazoku's shoulders, looking her up and down with a critical eye before spinning her around to take in every detail. She then stepped back and Kazoku tilted her head. "What was that abo- AGH!" She yelped and jumped back, arms crossing protectively over her chest. "What the heck! You don't poke there!"

Rangiku laughed and patted her captain on the head. "You chose a cute one taicho!" She cooed. "You're growing up!"

He swatted her hand away. "I'm not a child Matsumoto!" He snapped. "And I didn't choose her for anything!"

"Aw, you don't have to be shy about it taicho." The lieutenant teased, reaching to ruffle his hair again only for him to duck away from the touch.

'She's even more headache inducing in person…' Kazoku thought and walked closer.

The shinigami failed to pay the young ryoka any mind until she stopped right at arm's length of Rangiku and frowned. Hitsugaya's eyes shifted to her, voice halting mid-yell, and his lieutenant followed suit. Kazoku crossed her arms.

"Hm."

She reached up to grasp either side of Rangiku's loose kosode. With a swift tug she pulled the top closed to hide the woman's revealed cleavage.

"Much better."

With that she walked past them and plopped onto the couch at the center of the office. "It;s a very organized office." She murmured, looking around to take note of finer details missed on first inspection. "It could do with some brightening though. Not a very personal workspace."

Not sure how to respond to the comments, Hitsugaya ignored them and promptly began attempting to diffuse Matsumoto's teasing that followed soon after. After an infuriatingly long explanation and defense against the questions Rangiku drilled him with, Toushiro retreated to his desk. Rangiku did the same, though she dragged herself to said desk while complaining about the heartlessness of her captain.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Kazoku asked.

"Sit quietly." Was the reply and she got nothing else.

Those events led her here, teetering on the edge of a detrimental breakdown. Her tapping fingers settled to clench into fists on her lap. Her breathes came in silent but rapid intakes. All the while her superiors paid her no mind, whether because they felt no need to express concern or simply because they took no notice. Either way, she didn't want to be subjected to this deafening silence much longer. Her skull was already abuzz just by breathing the air in the room and her current state made her stomach twist.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to still. Air was drawn into starving lungs and waited to be released again.

A voice wavered from her throat in the form of quiet notes.

Toushiro's eyes flickered up as the girl leaned back into the couch cushions. Her head tilted upward. The shaking soprano notes carried to the ceiling like a wisp on the wind, simple and repetitive in their eight-note pattern. In attempt to drown the suffocating silence she began to fill it with her own soft voice that remained restrained so as not to disturb.

Matsumoto was drawn from her reminiscing trance by the song but Kazoku remained oblivious to her stares. Rather than take notice she added notes to the tune. Toushiro could practically feel the tension bleeding from the girl's pleasant tones, watching as her body shifted and gradually relaxed.

After a time, deeming the girl's voice a not-so-unpleasant background noise, Hitsugaya returned to his work while the notes glided through the air. Rangiku resumed her daydreaming, but with a slightly wistful expression gracing her features rather than the downcast face twisted with remembrance of time past.

Kazoku paused, taking a deep calming breath. Her fists unclenched and she ran a finger over the grooves her blunt nails had set in her palm. The office was silently drifting in a dazed spell.

Rather than let the peace fade with the dying notes, Kazoku took up her song again. She was surprised to a point of almost falling quiet when a soft voice joined hers, lower octaves mingling with her soprano notes. She looked up inquiringly.

Hitsugaya refused to meet her eyes even as his voice grew stronger. It seemed that even he did not want the tranquil air to disperse, which brought a smile to the young girl's lips as she let the notes flow freely from her throat. The whisper of paper over paper as Toushiro continued working accented the airy tune.

Rangiku looked from her captain to the ryoka, eyes widening considerably at the former's actions. Slowly a soft smile passed her lips and she listened quietly, face pinching when Toushiro's voice cracked from lack of musical use. The singers themselves didn't seem to notice, so lost were they in their wordless song.

The spell was broken when the older woman opened her mouth.

A straining voice made itself known, struggling to follow the musical pattern set by the younger voices. Toushiro's brush made a jagged line off the pure white onto the dark wood it rested on. Kazoku brought her fingers to her ears to mute the noise and squeezed her eyes shut.

Realizing she was singing alone, the woman stopped.

"Um.. Matsu-san...? Don't... Don't sing again please." Kazoku whimpered as she opened one eye.

"That's an order." Toushiro added, shaking his head as if to shake the memory of the assaulting noise from his mind.

"Eh?" She looked surprised. "What's wrong with my singing?"

"Not to be rude Matsu-san... But you can't carry a tune in a bucket..." Kazoku said in a small voice. As if fate wished to emphasize her statement, the young girl's previously unsettled stomach churned and she bolted from the room with a hand over her mouth.

XxXxXxXxX

To anyone who was watching, it would seem as though Umino had properly reigned in her anger and was extremely bored as she walked after Byakuya through the streets. In reality her mind was in a mess of emotions. She was experiencing a mixture of anger, embarrassment, confusion, excitement, and joy. Many of these emotions revolved around the fact that she had seen Captain Hitsugaya Toushiro in the...flesh?...and that she may indeed possess shinigami powers. Another emotion that was prominent in Umino's thoughts was fear. She had noticed which captains were absent from the ranks of the Gotei 13 and she knew, from the little Walmart experience in the living world with Kazoku and Gin, that the three notorious traitors were most certainly alive and active. She and her sister had arrived just in time to experience a war. Great.

Captain Kuchiki led his ward through a wooden gate bearing the Japanese kanji for six on its doors. As they passed through the courtyard and into the building, they received various reactions from the sixth division members. The noble captain barely acknowledged the respectfully low bows of the subordinates he'd passed. That respect immediately turned into shock, confusion, suspicion, worry, anger, curiosity, and even slight hints of fear upon seeing the ryoka girl following closely behind their taicho. Umino just rolled her eyes before returning them to stare at the symbol on Byakuya's haori, completely ignoring the tense stances with hands tightly grasping a zanpakuto.

The sixth division captain stopped in front of a pair of sliding doors, swiftly opening one, only to gaze dispassionately inside. Curious as to why they weren't entering the office, Umino peered around Byakuya's tall frame. Her eyes were greeted with the sight of a certain lieutenant sitting at his desk and leaning his red, pineapple shaped head on his right hand, whose elbow was propped up on what Umino assumed was a pile of unfinished paperwork. In the midst of all the chaos caused by the two ryoka girls, Abarai Renji had found time to nap. Umino swiftly stepped around Byakuya and strode across the room to stand next to the lieutenant. Deciding that the snoring had become exceedingly annoying, Umino had no problem with doing what she did next.

The girl promptly shoved the red head out of his chair, causing a majority of the paperwork to scatter all over the desk and floor. Renji quickly batted away the pile of papers that had followed him on his way down and, upon seeing Umino, jumped up and reached for Zabimaru. Umino remained calm with her arms crossed and a small smirk gracing her face.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?

"Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" he spat back.

Before Umino had the chance to reply back with another snappy comment, Byakuya interjected. "It has been decided by a majority vote of the captains that the ryoka will be put under a probation of sorts and supervised by a captain who, in turn, will train that ryoka in the ways of the shinigami."

Renji's eyebrows, uh, tattoos, furrowed together. "Why the hell are we doing this?"

"The head captain approved this option due to the fact that they both possess a more than average amount of spiritual pressure and that the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo, was shown leniency despite the amount of destruction and injury he caused upon first entering the Seireitei."

Disbelief colored the lieutenant's voice as he spoke. "So wait, the main reason is because it wouldn't be fair? What the hell are they thinking?" Umino cautiously put a few feet of space between Zabimaru and herself as Renji began to show his opinion of the situation by franticly waving his arms around.

"They pose a threat to us if we leave them unchecked. Guidance is necessary if they are to learn how to properly wield the zanpakuto they each possess."

Renji looked dumbstruck for a second before staring at Umino with disbelief. "You mean to tell me that this midget girl has a zanpakuto spirit? And we have to train her how to use it? We're in the middle of a war here, they'll only cause more problems in the future! What if they're allied with that traitor Aizen?"

Umino couldn't stand being talked about as if she weren't present in the first place, but suggesting an alliance with that asshole and his bitch curl was the last straw. She jumped up and darted her hand out to grab the pineapple's ponytail, yanking him down to stare into her fiery brown eyes shielded by glass.

"It insults me greatly that you would even put forth the theory that my sister and I are loyal to Aizen. That man is an untrustworthy snake who enjoys using people to the fullest extent before cruelly disposing of them. He takes pleasure in deriving pain from others, driving them to the point of insanity. A thief, cheat, and a liar, that bastard is the most pathetic excuse for a soul, he has brought shame to the esteemed title of captain and the name shinigami." Umino released Renji from her grasp and crossed her arms, staring at him defiantly. "I would sooner cast myself into the fiery pits of the underworld than follow scum such as he."

The hot-headed girl did not miss the quick glance that Renji gave his captain, almost as if he approved of her retaliation. Byakuya of course appeared indifferent, and he simply walked to his desk with grace, calmly pulling the stack of paperwork in front of him to fill out with his calligraphy handwriting. Pfft, what a snob. Renji simply shrugged and quickly snatched up his fallen paperwork and threw it on his desk in a hazardous pile before proceeding to fill it out, albeit slowly.

Somewhat surprised at the dissipation of the hostility in the room and disturbed by the sudden silence, Umino wondered what she was supposed to do at the moment. "Um, so just out of curiosity, when am I supposed to start my training?"

Byakuya's eyes never left his paperwork as he spoke. "Tomorrow at noon, but we will be here by seven." The short-tempered girl groaned at the thought of losing precious hours of sleep. Byakuya simply ignored her and continued his work.

Umino, having nothing better to do than stand and listen to the soft sound of brush strokes against paper, went to lean against the wall behind her jailers and did just that, enjoying the peace and quiet of the office and allowing herself to relax for once. 'If Kazo-chan were in my position right about now, she'd be going insane.' Right after the thought had occurred, the brunette snickered because Kazoku probably was in the same situation, considering who her supervisor was. At that, Umino frowned. The world really was cruel to put the object of her obsession right before her eyes, close enough to be touched, and then snatch it away, instead giving it to her sister. An unexpected stab of jealousy coursed through her, but she immediately shook it off. Her blue-eyed chibi friend knew what her boundaries were.

The hours passed by rather quickly with nothing of notable interest taking place. Well, unless you count Umino reading over Byakuya's shoulder simply to examine his elegantly beautiful handwriting notable. The interesting thing about that was Byakuya almost smiling at the compliment. Almost.

After having one of the lower-seated officers collect their paperwork to deliver to the proper divisions, Byakuya, Renji, and Umino exited the office. Renji didn't accompany them for long, saying something about meeting up with the guys to discuss some important topic. Umino's response to that was a question about whether or not drinking was truly important. Renji, of course, promised to kick her ass the following day.

The depart of the brash lieutenant left Umino alone with a stoic captain. Not that she minded all that much. It was, after all, a lovely afternoon, the sun was just beginning to set and it cast a soft orange glow across the sky.

They hadn't even walked very far before coming across yet another pair of large, wooden double doors, though this one seemed far more elegant than the sixth division's. Umino had no doubt in her mind that they were about to enter the Kuchiki estate. Meh, no big deal right?

As the doors swung open and the two walked inside, she realized that it was, indeed, a very big deal. Releasing a gasp that did not escape Byakuya's notice, the fire elemental girl gazed with wide eyes upon the beautiful estate grounds. She had been to a traditional Japanese garden before, but it definitely didn't compare. Immaculately cut, lush, green grass sprawled out before them and various intricate bonsai and Japanese maple trees dotted the landscape. The most breathtaking sight by far however, were the numerous Sakura trees, their pink petals scattered throughout the wind in an eternal dance.

Suddenly recalling that she was under the scrutinizing gaze of the head of the Kuchiki family, Umino snapped her gaping mouth shut and schooled her face into a mask of indifference, as if she did not care for the beauty of the gardens. However, the damage had already been done, and Byakuya took it upon himself to give her a tour of the grounds. One would think that it was rather kind of such an esteemed noble to lower himself to such a menial task, but Umino thought of it more as a chance for him to show off. Not that she was complaining, each new sight was rather astonishing and the short-tempered girl was rather happy about the prospect of living in such an exquisite place.

Byakuya used the tour to lay out a long list of rules for Umino, many of which she had already expected since Yammamoto had assigned the noble to her. "There will be no running in the house nor on the grounds, yelling or producing any obnoxious noise of any sort is prohibited, you will refer to me as either Kuchiki-taicho or Kuchiki-sama and you will be accompanied by either myself or Abarai-fukutaicho at all times. Any destruction to property, be it mine or another's, or injury to another will be severely punished. Is that understood?"

Umino nodded her head. "Absolutely Kuchiki-sama. However, you forgot to add one thing."

"And what is that?"

Umino smirked. "Building secret passages, tunnels, or rooms to hold SWA meetings within the Kuchiki estate is also prohibited." The sixth division captain stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head ever so slightly to pierce the girl with a narrowed gaze. Unfazed by the glare, Umino's smile grew. "Scary how I know things, isn't it? But seriously dude, oh, I mean Kuchiki-sama, you need to lighten up. It was just a joke. Smiles are good for you, much better than frowning, which takes way too much effort by the way. And besides, we wouldn't want to ruin such an aristocratically, pretty face with wrinkles now would we?" Of course there was no yielding on Byakuya's part and he remained as apathetic as ever, simply choosing to walk forward without any comments.

After the laying out of the rules, the tour became more informative with the raven-haired man commenting on certain historical aspects of the garden, such as the first Sakura tree to be planted, the largest and most intricately twisted bonsai tree, and a very special big rock...don't worry, it had a haiku carved upon its surface, so it actually was somewhat important.

When Umino had been shown the main rooms of the manor, the captain led her to her room. Though it was probably small by the noble's standards, the bespectacled girl was more than satisfied with it. The room was sparsely decorated with only a desk, vanity, and a full-size bed. Another pair of sliding doors to the side led to a personal bathroom, much to Umino's delight. Though the room was, at the moment, lit by several candles, Umino could tell that she would get a lot of natural light simply by opening the large window in front of her. The view wasn't bad either, she could clearly see night sky dotted with stars and the Sakura trees seemed to be everywhere.

Turning to the captain, Umino bowed low. "Arigato Kuchiki-sama." Choosing to ignore her thanks, Byakuya simply stated that his rooms were right down the hall, which to Umino meant that should she try to leave, he would know. Deciding to wave off the threat, Umino responded with a bored tone. "M'kay, I'll be sure to call you if I need anything." Looking extremely displeased at the thought, the noble simply turned and left. "Night Kuchiki-sama!" said Umino, smiling cheekily before sliding her doors shut.

After showering and changing into a pair of plain pajamas that she'd found in the dresser, Umino flopped onto her bed and slid under the covers, easily drifting into dreamland.

XxXx(OMAKE WARNING)xXxX

Kuchiki Byakuya frowned as a skittering noise passed beneath him. He sat before a large banner spread across the floor of the sparsely furnished room, wielding a large ink brush poised over the paper. He drew it back so as not to let ink pool onto the clean white surface and cast his gaze downward to the floor. The skittering continued and his eyes narrowed. No doubt it was that the rambunctious lieutenant of the eleventh division scampering through the tunnels she had so _graciously_ constructed beneath his home. He had long since ceased his questioning of how she did such a thing; it would remain as shadowed a mystery as the disappearance of his koi.

With this thought in his mind, he his attention to the panel of the floor he knew she would pop her bubblegum head through, most likely trying to catch him off guard. That trapdoor, like so many secret entrances throughout his manor, had been previously blocked. But to his dismay she kept coming back using those very entrances with no indication as to how she did it.

With his conclusion in mind, he was puzzled when the trapdoor popped open to reveal a head of light brown curls with a strand of vibrant blue, followed by a short but busty form and tiny feet with blue-painted toenails.

"Hola Kuchiki-taicho!" The girl chirped, sitting just outside the opening and bowing her head politely. His lips pulled downward slightly in a puzzled manner. _'Hola?'_

Before he could question her reasoning for intruding on his home, she clapped her hands together like a child and smiled cheekily. "I come bearing words of warning, Kuchiki Byakuya-sama," she announced, "concerning my onee-chan. Please hear me out before Toushi-taicho awakens from his slumber and finds his charge missing."

Disregarding the fact that she had given her captain the slip (it was the child prodigy's own fault for falling asleep while on duty after all), The noble fixed the young girl with an emotionless gaze. "I'm quite capable of handling Akadoragon without your assistance."

"No no no." Kazoku waved a hand in a very Urahara-ish manner. "It's not advice or anything. I don't give advice to people like you." This made the noble quirk an eyebrow. "But! I have a few little things you need to know about Umino." She paused and pulled the sleeve of her shihakusho up, revealing minute words in dark ink running from her elbow to her wrist. "Let's see..." She murmured, eyes running down the tiny list. "Oh yeah." She looked back at the stoic captain.

"First off, Umino bites." She stated. "You don't really have to worry if she bites your wrists or neck, 'cause that's a gesture of affection. But, anywhere else and you're probably going to lose a limb." She checked the list on her wrist again. "Oh and be sure she doesn't get cold. She throws hissy fits when she's too cold." One more checking of the list. "Hm... Oh!" She put on a serious look and met the Kuchiki's eyes.

"I give you fair warning Kuchiki-taicho, if the situation may arise and you fall for Umino, I'd like you to keep in mind that I already know who she's chosen in her heart and breaking such a devotion would be near impossible, even for someone like you." She got a peculiar gleam in her eye.

"So, to spare that fragile heart you keep locked in a tiny box in the deepest depths of your soul, I suggest you turn your attention toward your lieutenant instead." She added with a grin. And long before he could question the absurdity of her suggestion, she was gone again, and the trapdoor slammed shut.

XxXxXxXxX

Hitsugaya glared at the rolled up letter that had flown in through the window and hit him on the head, effectively waking him from his nap. When the letter simply sat there innocently and refused to shatter, he grumbled before opening it to read its contents.

_'Dear Shiro-ku-, err, I mean Toush-, gah, umm, oh! Hitsugaya-taicho,_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't speak to you in person, but I am rather busy at the moment doing...stuff. So instead I wrote you this letter! I have compiled, for you, a list of rules and tips for taking care of Kazo-chan and making sure she doesn't bring destruction upon your division._

_First off, make sure Kazoku has something to entertain herself with, she gets bored quite easily. Nothing big, just simple things, crayons, puzzles, brain-teasers, you know, she gets easily distracted. Oh, manga always works too._

_Rule number 2: Make sure there is some sort of background noise, absolute silence drives her insane!_

_Número 3: Never, under any circumstances, should you give Kazoku large amounts of candy. Sure, a small lollipop or maybe some pocky to shut her up, but God forbid, do NOT give it in large amounts! Should you, for some unexplainable reason, have a sudden stupid urge to provide her with more than a handful of sugary confections, then may God, the Devil, or myself have mercy on your soul._

_Well, I suppose that's it, following these simple rules should save you from having to repair you division and most major injuries._

_With lov-, erk, Wishing you the best of luck,_

_Akadoragon Umino'_

The captain of the tenth division glared at the piece of paper quietly muttering, "Couldn't have said anything about that earlier could she?"

Umino's head popped up from the other side of the window and she spoke startling the icy captain. "I'm sorry! I just forgot and I didn't think it was important at the time! And besides, it's your fault for distracting me!" She said while rapidly waving her hands to and fro, allowing a whiny sound to coat her voice.

Toushiro frowned. "How and when exactly did I distract you? And didn't you say you were too busy to come talk to me in person?" he said accusingly.

Umino, turning a bright red at the realization of giving herself away, simply let out a single "meep" and zipped off, leaving the captain to wonder at the oddity of the ryoka girl. Speaking of ryoka, where had Karasukami gone...


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Due to circumstances out of our control, we haven't updated in a long while. Writer's block and lack of motivation is a bitch. -_- But Kuchiki Byakuya-sama has renewed our drive to write, because he is a glorious warrior who inspires the sweep of beautiful calligraphy across delicate parchment... If typed pixels were calligraphy... And Pages was parchment... But that technical stuff doesn't matter all that much, 'cause this is a freakin' looooong chapter.

Anyway. The two of us appreciate any and all reviews whether they be words of appreciation or constructive criticism. This being the case, we don't like to pick favorites on a regular basis.

BUT!

We will make an exception this chapter. We'd like to give special recognition to TheSecondQuincy, who gave us an amazing and lengthy review that had both Umino and Kazoku squealing with happiness. Of course, it could be an extended reaction of our excitement for putting our next chapter up after so long, but I digress. You, my dear, are amazing. Both of us appreciate your appreciation. :3 You made Umino feel shiny inside and Kazoku skipped back and forth through her classroom for a good ten minutes with joy.

As for our other reviewers, we thank you all for reading this far! Onward Chappy Cavalry!

* * *

Natsu calmly strode through the halls of the Kuchiki manor, not a trace of fear about her despite the task that she was about to perform. She didn't really understand what all the fuss was about, there was no reason to be afraid of their new guest. However, most of the other servants hadn't yet laid eyes on the girl, so they'd ended up drawing straws to see who would have the _honor _of waking and assisting the ryoka girl every day.

It didn't really matter to Natsu, in her opinion the girl looked sweet...okay, maybe not sweet per se, but she was sure that the girl's cold exterior was simply due to the fact that Master Kuchiki had intimidated her into hiding her true emotions. Besides, the girl was absolutely precious, she'd looked so tiny walking behind the captain. And the little red ribbon in her hair along with the bow tied behind her back? How cute. Maybe she'd allow Natsu to dress her up every day as well, it'd be nice to have a little sister-like figure around for a change. Miss Rukia simply hated being treated as such.

Natsu also had less personal motives for wanting this task, many of them revolving around the idea of not doing the usual boring house chores. No, those would be left to the other maids and butlers while she got to dote on little miss Aka-chan. Hmm, Akadoragon...Umino Akadoragon...the girl's name really didn't suit her. Well, maybe the sea part, but dragon? No, much too violent and destructive for her tastes.

And so, with a bright and cheery smile on her face, the maid slid the ryoka's door open and entered the room.

The shades were already open, allowing the pale, warm sunlight to stream through the window and cast a glow across the sleeping child's form. Oh she was so cute, curled up in a ball with the blankets tightly wrapped around her, nothing but the top half of her face exposed. Her glasses lay on the bedside table and without them it gave her face a much younger appearance.

Softly walking to the side of the bed, Natsu placed a gentle hand on Umino's shoulder and shook her, trying to wake her up when the early sunlight had obviously failed to. "Miss, it's time to wake up. We wouldn't want to get a scolding from Kuchiki-sama for being late now would we?"

Unbeknownst to the maid, she had made a horrible mistake that would affect her for months to come.

When Umino's mind began to stir from its much appreciated deep sleep her mood plummeted. Hearing the fuzzy, yet decidedly sickeningly sweet voice trying to coax her awake certainly didn't improve anything. Feeling a dissatisfied frown fix itself upon her face, Umino snapped her eyes open and turned her head, intent on tearing apart the unlucky soul who had the misfortune to be waking her at the moment.

Despite the fact that her eyes were still foggy with sleep, she managed to sharpen her glare with the intent to burn alive anything in its path. Umino had long ago learned the art of imbuing her person and immediate area with the dark and malevolent aura that she carried within her, so it was within milliseconds that the room began to darken with an ominous evil shadow that seeped into every corner.

Feeling the hand of her target snatch itself away as if burned, the fire elemental girl sat up, allowing her aura to send out a pulse of hostile intent. And so, it was with a smirk of satisfaction that she watched the maid make herself scarce with a blur of motion and the slam of the door as it slid shut, the sound of her terrified scream dying as it echoed around the room.

XxXxXxXxX

"Here."

Kazoku gave a yelp of surprise when a cloud of black assaulted her vision, the dark attacker taking up the air previously drawn upon for breath. Amidst Kazoku's flailing, she heard an exasperated sigh followed by the sudden disappearance of the constricting black. It was replaced with a very irritable Toushiro looking down at her, clutching a bundle of fabric in his small fist.

"What was that for? Trying to suffocate me or something?" Kazoku accused, sitting up from where she had been daydreaming on the couch.

"I assumed you'd be able to at least catch something." He retorted and dropped the bundle onto her lap before retreating to his desk. "My mistake."

"How rude." Kazoku muttered as she unrolled the black fabric, only to find a shinigami shihakusho in her hands.

"Um, Hitsugaya-taicho, what is this for?"

"Seeing as it's a uniform, I'd think that you would wear it."

Kazoku sent a light glare his way. "That's not what I meant. I mean why did you give a shinigami uniform to me?"

"Your training begins this afternoon." He replied as he took up his brush and didn't elaborate further. Instead he set to work minimizing the paperwork that crowded his desk and put the human girl from his attention. Said human girl looked from the uniform to him and back again before scurrying out of the room toward the bathroom, clutching the black bundle in her arms.

She returned some twenty minutes later, clad in the dark shihakusho. "I like it." Kazoku announced and plopped down on the couch, tossing her abandoned jeans and top to the corner of the room. Toushiro scowled.

"This isn't your bedroom. You can't just throw clothes everywhere."

"Well excuse me, but I don't have a room at all." Kazoku answered. "I slept on this couch last night. Onee-chan probably got to stay in the Kuchiki estate, and here you are being completely discourteous to your guest."

"I'm not required to be courteous to you. I'm only required to train you." He said coldly. Kazoku frowned and sat back against the couch, inwardly hoping that she wouldn't have to sleep on the couch for the entirety of her time here. It was stiff and too short to stretch comfortably. Toushiro might be small enough to do so without issue, but she had a few more inches on the child captain and happened to shift considerably in her sleep. And if she ended up rolling onto the floor because she had tried moving into a comfier position, the young captain had better expect a very irate and cruel Karasukami Kazoku.

XxXxXxXxX

Natsu stared blankly at the space in front of her as she slumped against the wall and slid down, her legs unable to support her anymore after having put as much distance between her body and _that room _as possible. She clenched her hands around her arms, trying to stop the violent shaking of her soul as it slowly regained its warmth. Never had she been more terrified in her life.

Slowly, she got up and examined herself, not understanding why none of her reishi particles had turned to ash. Surely she hadn't imagined the burning sensation that had been caused by the demon?

Nonetheless, she was undeniably grateful that she had escaped with her life. That is, until she realized that she still had to bring the girl her uniform and escort her to the dining hall. Not to mention that she had to enter the dragon's cave every day to wake it up! 'Oh kami have mercy on my soul!' Natsu thought as she dragged her weary body down the hall, all previous cheer absent from her demeanor.

Meanwhile, Umino sighed as she flopped back down onto the bed, letting the black shadows of her anger dissipate until there was not a trace of it left. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle into the feather down comforter and return to her peaceful slumber, but that, sadly enough, wasn't an option. The girl grumbled as she unceremoniously kicked the covers off and placed her glasses on her head before sliding off the bed.

Bending her back until she heard several satisfying cracks, Umino ambled her way to the bathroom. A shower sounded like a great way to ease her aching leg muscles from all the running she'd done yesterday.

Actually, her whole body was sore, but that was to be expected. She had, after all, taken somewhat of a beating before the shinigami had been able to subdue her. She even noticed some bruising along her arms and legs where they had been able to restrain her. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Although she was sure that they would keep Kazoku entertained, the girl was oddly obsessed with bruises, especially Umino's seeing as they always managed to retain the strangest of colors.

After scrubbing herself clean Umino dressed herself in the standard shinigami uniform that she'd found folded neatly on her bed, which had been made while she was in the shower. No doubt the work of the maid who had stopped by this morning.

While brushing out her hair, Umino glared at the red ribbon sitting on the vanity, then back to her reflection. As much as she hated to admit it, she sucked at braiding her hair. Normally she had Kazoku do it because she hated it when the braid didn't go down her back in a perfectly even line, but unfortunately Kazo-chan was absent and she had no idea when she'd see her sister next. Perhaps she could find a maid to do it.

As luck would have it, the maid happened to be standing just outside the room, so when Umino opened the door she allowed a smile to grace her features. "Excuse me, but would you mind helping me with my hair? I usually have it pulled back in a braid, but to be honest it looks terrible when I do it myself." Umino allowed an innocent sort of tone to creep into her voice, though really the feel of it made her queasy.

The maid gave a sharp nod and a shaky smile as she followed Umino into the room. She wasn't sure what to think of the girl. Her smile and voice had sounded totally believable, and it made her question whether or not she had imagined the previous incident. Something deep down, however, told her to run, that Umino was still the same demon and she could snap her neck in an instant.

XxXxXxXxX

The tenth division was an impressive one, she had to admit. In the walk toward the training field, Kazoku did all she could to memorize the layout as she went, seeing as her sense of direction wasn't the best, and she didn't want to end up like Kenpachi if a battle erupted somewhere.

She had forgiven Toushiro somewhat since that morning, was even amused by his actions. After his cold remark about not being required to be courteous, he had set to getting as much work done as he could before he had to drag his charge out to the fields to assess her current abilities. However, it became apparent that the complaint the girl had made had somehow given him an awareness that brought an embarrassed scowl to settle on his face minutes later.

It seemed that the fact that he was supposed to provide the girl a place of residence during this extended stay had completely slipped his mind. In fact, the realization that the girl had remained in the office the entire night didn't occur to him until she brought it up that morning.

He had stayed late the night before to finish his daily work in addition to the extra documents Matsumoto had slipped on his desk to avoid doing them herself. This work would have been done, had the ryoka not invaded and gave reason for a mandatory captain's meeting. And so, when the moon was high in the sky and illuminated his desk now empty of papers, he let out a sigh of relief at his accomplishment.

Kazoku, on the other hand, had zoned out after the little singing scene and amused herself with quiet little tunes to accompany the tales she spun in her mind to repress her anxiety. Around the time Hitsugaya had finished his paperwork, she was conveniently absent from the office, barely calling a "Bathroom break! " over her shoulder before she had walked out. Despite Toushiro's previous order to stay in his sight, he was surprisingly lenient as long as she was quiet and stayed in the building. She supposed her reiatsu was enough to tell him where she was.

With this in mind, she had taken her time and didn't return to the office for a good ten minutes. But, by the time she slid the door open and yawned, intent on telling Hitsugaya that it really was too late to be here, she had found the room dark and most certainly empty. The exhausted child captain had gone home for the night.

The following hour found the quiet office lit with candles to fend off the dark, and Kazoku curled on the couch under a large fluffy teal blanket that had been unceremoniously thrown in the corner of a storage closet connected to the office. Kazoku granted a mental kudos to the person who decided a teal and white Toushi-Cocoon would be downright adorable. Upon closer inspection, she had found a white tag bearing a simple smiley face in black ink attached to the corner, which she had promptly removed and put into the pocket of her jeans (she had changed back into her human clothes, not wanting to turn her new uniform into her pajamas regardless of how comfy it was).

Other things in the corner of the closet included a basket of child's toys like jacks, cards, and slinkies, a large box of girly kimonos and a package of shiny ribbons, all bearing similar smiley face tags. This caused Kazoku to giggle incessantly as she rifled through the pile; whoever had been sending Toushiro these gifts was genius. After all, the young captain couldn't throw them away lest they be secret gifts from Hinamori or Matsumoto and he was forced to face their wrath for getting rid of gifts they 'had chosen especially for him'.

Her attention had been drawn from the corner when her nose twitched at a sweet scent slightly masked with the musty one of the closet. Looking up, she had realized that the containers stacked to the ceiling were not supplies as she originally thought. They were candy. Boxes upon boxes of sugary treats, each labelled in Hitsugaya's neat handwriting (probably to make it easier for those picky people to choose what they wanted when he gave it all away, or maybe the young captain was just OCD about his candy organization. Either way, it was highly amusing). The young ryoka assumed this was the home of all those candies that took up former residence in Ukitake-taicho's sleeves.

Using the particularly large blanket as a bag to cart a decently sized pile to the couch, Kazoku had spread out the candies on the table and selected a few small pieces of chocolate to nibble on while she made her nest out of the blanket. The couch, as she found out later on, was not as comfy to sleep on as it looked, but she had felt content. With the room illuminated with soft candlelight, the chill in the air from traces of Toushiro's reiatsu contrasting with the coziness of the thick blanket around her, and no worry of running out of snacks anytime soon, Kazoku had settled down and sighed happily before the exhaustion of the day's events crept up on her and she drifted off to sleep.

Of course, she had already woken and cleaned up her mess long before Toushiro had arrived the next morning, so of course he wouldn't have noticed right away. She inwardly giggled. Regardless of his claims, he still needed as much sleep as any child, and the early hours weren't his most lucid times.

That aside, he now walked with an air of one who demanded respect, though she was pretty sure it was half habit, half for the sake of appearances in front of the ryoka. She wished she could have laughed out loud at how cute it was, but doing so would just make him angry.

She settled instead for a soft smile as they walked past the training fields of the Tenth Division. She spotted the lieutenant a ways off training a team of new recruits, various officers sparring, and still more testing their skills at kidou using various targets. It was amazing how chaotic and yet how organized the division really was. Everyone flowed together with little issue, melded together by their dedication to their duties and devotion to their comrades. In a way, she was jealous that she wasn't part of that. And as a human from another world, she supposed she never truly would be.

"We're here."

Kazoku was jolted from her musing when the captain stopped and she bumped into him. "Eh? Oh, sorry about that." She laughed apologetically before she took note of the building in front them.

"Looks like a dojo." She said aloud, tilting her head.

"It's an extension of the- Hey!" He growled when the girl ran past him and inside with an excited grin, resolving that he had to exercise his patience with this girl. That in mind, he too walked through the doors, finding the girl already selecting a wooden bokken from a rack off to the side. The entire place was currently void of any of his division members as ordered.

"You're not using anything like that yet." He said as he walked over. Kazoku didn't seem to hear him.

She tested the weight of the bokken with a few experimental twirls and a downward slash. She liked the feel of the wooden weapon in her hand. She was almost beside herself with excitement at the prospect of being able to wield a weapon and purify Hollows on her own. It was thrilling, the very idea of connecting with a spirit that embodied what looked like a simple blade and guided her, grew with her in her training. Of course, this bokken wasn't going to be it's home, but just the thought filled her with a giddy anticipation.

She tried her best to repress these optimistic emotions that coursed through her just by holding the training weapon. She knew what happened when new recruits entered the division with a reckless overconfidence; it was common knowledge that those who discarded caution were the first to fall. And though she'd like to think that she'd do just fine taking on opponents and wielding a zanpakuto, she knew that it'd be a bit more difficult than that.

"Hey! I said you aren't using-" He blocked a slash with crossed forearms, then pushed the wooden blade aside and grabbed the hand wielding the weapon. His grip tightened almost painfully on her wrist and she tilted her head, face pinching.

"We're beginning with basics." He said and took the bokken from her hand. "This will come later."

"So... Stances?" Kazoku offered. Toushiro set the bokken on it's rack and just stood there without an answer. Kazoku took a step toward him.

"Toushi-taicho?"

She hit the ground with an 'oof' after a quick arm to the gut; she hadn't even seen him move. It wasn't a hard hit at all, just enough to knock her off balance. The girl looked up with confused eyes and was given a level look.

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho." He said blankly. Given how easily she hit the floor, he was fairly certain he'd be here a while.

XxXxXxXxX

Umino watched as the maid shakily combed her fingers through her hair before separating them into three sections. Unsure about whether or not Byakuya would view damage to a person's mental health as a breach in his rules, she decided to make amends with the maid, despite the fact that she'd probably break her again if she decided to wake her up the following morning.

Putting her acting skills to use, Umino made her expression resemble that of an overly curious and sincere little girl, ignoring her own annoyance at the way her face looked in the mirror. "So...might I have the pleasure of knowing your name? I'd rather not refer to you as 'the maid' every time I see you, that would be rude."

Natsu continued to braid the hair as she answered. "My name is Hana Natsu, but the young miss can call me Natsu if she pleases."

"Natsu...hmm, summer...that's a pretty name. It suits you. Oh, and please don't call me young miss, it sounds too polite for me." On the inside, Umino was dying even though she knew her act was working. Her manners were suffocating her! Natsu, on the other hand, had visibly relaxed and a tentative smile made itself known as she replied with a soft thank you.

Finished with the braid, Umino followed Natsu as she led her through the various halls that would lead them to the dining room. "I've brought Akadoragon-san for breakfast Kuchiki-sama." And with that, Natsu bowed and took her leave.

As soon as she vacated the room, Umino scowled and sat down on the cushion across from Byakuya. "You couldn't have let me sleep in a little longer?"...Blank stare...silence...ignored. "Fine, fine. But don't blame me when your maid has to get checked into a mental institution due to repeated traumatic events." At that point the food was served and Umino gave the stoic man one last glare before concentrating on the task at hand. Eating. "Itadakimasu."

After finishing a very awkward breakfast in which Umino could feel Byakuya's cold stare analyzing her table manners, they headed over to the sixth division...in silence. 'This was going to become a habit, wasn't it?' Umino simply sighed. At least she wasn't getting constantly reprimanded. Not that she would mind if it was Hitsugaya-taicho.

After entering the office Umino returned to the wall she had claimed the day before, planning on counting all of the knots in the wooden flooring to pass the time. Just as she was starting to slip into a peaceful, zoned out state of mind, the door slid open with a crash, jolting her back to reality. Renji lumbered into the office with a hand on his head and an irritated scowl on his face. "Morning taicho, Akadoragon."

Umino smirked as he grumbled on his way to his desk. "And good morning to you as well sunshine." Her smirk turned into a full-blown grin as Renji clumsily pulled out his chair and sat down, almost missing the seat entirely. "Have fun drinking with the boys last night? I certainly hope it was worth the headache." The hungover lieutenant shot her a scathing look, which only succeeded in allowing the laughter to escape the confines of Umino's mouth.

Her joy, however, was cut short when she noticed the grin that made its way onto his face. "Remind me to kick your ass later on today when I'm put in charge of your training exercises." The girl scowled and went back to glaring at the floor.

After two hours of absolute boredom, the trio exited the room, leaving the paperwork for later. Captain Kuchiki led his lieutenant and ward out to the training grounds, watching as the rest of the division assembled. Umino was given strict instructions to just sit and watch silently as the sixth division's finest led the group training exercises. Umino kept a strict eye on Renji trying to memorize his fighting style, but all it told her was that she was in for some huge ass-kicking when noon came around.

Finally the lesser shinigami were dismissed, leaving Byakuya and Renji to get down to business. Byakuya addressed Umino with that awesome know-it-all noble voice of his. "You will be instructed in each of the four basic aspects that make up a shinigami's skill set; Hohō, Hakuda, Kido, and Zanjutsu. We will start by testing your agility with hohō. Hohō is the art of speed.'"

"So, in short, Shunpo." Umino said, though no sarcasm was used. She had her learning face on and was giving her full attention to the noble...to be honest, it was kinda weird.

Byakuya's eyes scanned her face suspiciously, still skeptical of how she came about her knowledge of the shinigami. "Essentially yes, shunpo is the greatest expression of hohō."

Byakuya pointed toward the furthest end of the training field. "Starting from this wall, your objective is to test how far you can get with a single flash step heading in that direction. You will be timed. On my mark." Umino crouched and placed her hand on the ground, tensing her legs and bracing her feet against the ground. "San. Ni. Ichi." Umino took a breath, closing her eyes. "...Iku."

Releasing her breath in a rush, Umino pushed off the ground with all her might, scrunching her eyes shut as the wind rushed past her face. She opened her eyes to see how far she'd make it and...the ground rushed up to meet her face. Umino just managed to brace the fall with her hands, but she ended up performing some sort of weird front flip and landed on her back in a collapsed back bend. Tilting her head backwards until everything was upside down, she saw that she had managed to make it at least 8 feet. Frowning, she looked at her captain to see a dispassionate gaze painted on his face...what a surprise. To her right she daren't look, lest she see a smug expression plastered onto Renji's face.

And yet look she did, only to find that his face was also wiped clean of any emotion. "Well, at least we know she can jump..." And then it seemed as though the pineapple wasn't able to hold in his laughter after the utterance of a single sentence from his mouth. He bent over chuckling, tears on the corners of his eyes. "Hah, what the hell was that? Ahaha, that was so pathetic!"

Flushing, Umino jumped up, her glasses flashing, though they were askew, so the effect was lost on Renji. "Oi! I was going on nothing but an order to get as far as I could in one step! It's not like I know how to do this shit, I'm a freakin' human girl for Christ's sake!"

Renji had straightened up and quieted his laughter, but as soon as he looked at the teenage girl he burst out laughing again. "Haha, can't! Breath!" Umino, with her eye twitching, marched over to Renji and gave him a jab to the gut, causing him to double over. "Can you breath now?" "Damn midget!" Umino and Renji now had their foreheads pressed against each other, each gritting their teeth with their fists clenched at their sides. Before they could start exchanging blows however, a stern voice interrupted them.

"Abarai-fuku-taicho, Akadoragon, I am giving instructions on shunpo right now. Hakuda will begin after we finish with this, so, if at all possible, stop acting so impetuously and get back to focusing on the task at hand." Both Renji and Umino snapped to attention and Umino zipped back to her starting point, the two of them refusing to meet Byakuya's gaze.

"I was assuming that you'd be able to achieve shunpo by instinctually using that explosive reiatsu of yours, seeing as your control over it is reminiscent of Kurosaki's. It seems that you will be requiring an in depth lesson on using shunpo." Umino flushed as Byakuya continued on with his explanation of shunpo, trying to describe how to channel her reiatsu into her feet in a controlled burst of energy.

Theoretically, Umino understood the process, she just couldn't do it. Try as she might, she couldn't even find a thread of her reiatsu in her mind's eye, so there was no way for her to channel it to her feet. Thus, the next 15 minutes were spent with Umino zipping from one end of the courtyard to the other while Byakuya and Renji watched from the sidelines.

As it was, Umino only succeeded in tiring herself out, eventually collapsing in the middle of the field. Taking deep breaths to calm her heart, she closed her eyes in frustration. That stupid voice in her head was telling her she was failing again. Umino's eyes snapped open and she jumped up, determined to succeed. She tried remembering how it felt when she had made her reiatsu fluctuate in the captain's meeting. Still nothing.

About ready to rip her hair out in frustration, she stamped her foot in anger, only to find that she was on the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the training area. Taking a second to analyze just how she'd gotten there, Umino smiled and waved at Byakuya and Renji on the ground.

Thinking she'd gotten a handle on shunpo, she tried using it once again to get back on the ground. Unfortunately she only succeeded in jumping off the roof and almost breaking her leg. Byakuya decided that any further shunpo experimentation could only end with further injury to Umino's body, so they moved on to hakuda.

Umino followed her jailers into a building very similar to a traditional dojo. She moved to the center of the room and watched warily as Renji removed Zabimaru from his side. When he turned to face her with a smirk on his face she immediately bent her knees down into a wide stance, arms spread in a defensive position. For every step Renji took, she mirrored it, the two of them slowly circling each other, waiting for the first move to be made.

Suddenly, Renji bounded forward, obviously refraining from using shunpo, and made a swift jab at Umino's stomach. She dodged to the side, but her legs were kicked out from under her before she was completely able to evade. As she fell, Umino grabbed the leg that had not kicked her and jerked it up and forward, causing Renji to fall along with her. Regardless of this minor fumble, Renji was able to pin Umino's legs down before she could regain her footing and captured her arms, pinning them as well. Umino frowned and struggled, but to no avail. Round one had gone to Renji.

They sparred for several more rounds, each round lasting longer than the first. Renji managed to incapacitate her with ease every time, though not without some injuries himself. The undersized girl was proud to admit that she had scored a few hits as time wore on and she got a basic feel for Renji's style of fighting. She really hoped that the bruise adorning the right side of his lower jaw would stay there for weeks to come, as well as the gash on his left forearm where her teeth had found purchase. Not to mention the jammed fingers on his right hand from when he'd tried to hit her neck but got her forehead instead_._

Seeing as she was on the verge of collapsing from dehydration and over-exhaustion, the human girl was allowed a short ten minute break. After quenching her thirst and practically dousing her whole body in water, Umino dragged her feet back to the dojo and slumped on the ground. Unfortunately the moocher seemed intent on working her to death. With an evil gleam in his eye, Renji tossed a bokken at Umino's head, the practice weapon meeting its mark. "We're moving on to zanjutsu now, so quit being lazy." The weary and beaten girl grabbed the bokken and looked at it with extreme distaste. "Oh lovely, now I get to experience the sensation of being beaten to death by a toy sword."

As soon as Umino got to her feet, Renji swung his bokken at the girl, who managed to deflect it... sort of. When the lieutenant's wooden blade made contact, it sent Umino's flying out of her hand. Renji allowed the brunette to retrieve her weapon so they could start again, though the next few rounds ended up having the same results. Each time the bokken was sent flying, Renji would smack her upside the head telling her she needed to keep a tighter grip. Unfortunately a better hold didn't seem to do the girl any good seeing as the force of Renji's swings caused her sword to swing back and hit her head or whatever body part she had been trying to protect. Needless to say, Umino's blade work would need some refining.

When the the hot-tempered girl found herself staring at the point of Renji's bokken for what seemed like the millionth time, Byakuya called an end to the training. Umino sighed with relief, knowing that she was sure to have a wonderful collection of bruises and sore spots tomorrow, and tossed the wooden sword to Renji before following Byakuya outside. His lieutenant joined them soon after and it was then that the girl realized they were heading home.

She turned to the noble, confusion lightly coloring her tone. "We didn't work on kido at all." He didn't even glance her way. "...Weren't we supposed to go over all of the shinigami techniques?" At this, Byakuya finally responded. "Kido requires a base control over ones own reiatsu, which you are sorely lacking. Until such a time comes that you are able to keep that rampant spiritual pressure under control, I refuse to teach you kido. Regardless of whatever determination you may possess, I'd much prefer avoiding letting my division go up in flames." Renji smirked at the statement, which Umino deemed a good enough reason to smack him. "Like you're one to talk! 'Check it out, I'm Renji, hado thirty-one, Shakkaho!'" The diminutive girl mimicked having the spell explode in her face, then smirked right back at the pineapple. He just threw her a scathing look, knowing that Kuchiki-taicho would get on his case if he kicked her ass any more than he had already.

And so the day came to a close. Renji left the two to walk alone to the Kuchiki property and when they got there, Umino bid Byakuya goodnight. Deciding a hot shower would be a great way to ease her aching and bruised body, she proceeded to do just that. Limping across the room after her shower, Umino was determined to find a comfy pair of pajamas so she could pass out on her bed for the rest of the night.

The last thing heard before the night was over was Umino's horrified shout echoing throughout the house.

XxXxXxXxX

_'Well, that wasn't too horrifying.'_ Kazoku thought as she flopped on the couch upon returning to the office. Toushiro seated himself at his desk and proceeded to ignore the ryoka girl once again. Really, this was getting rather annoying; it wouldn't kill the guy to be sociable.

But, he was a pretty good teacher so she couldn't be too upset. Her training, after she was knocked on her ass for being a nuisance, began with the most basic of basics. And after she started getting serious about it, he had no problem answering any questions she had.

_ "We'll start with assessing your capabilities with hohō."_

_ "Um... Hitsugaya-taicho, I don't think training should include sugary snacks. I mean, I'm all for sweets but they'll kill my systems if I exert myself."_

_ She received a deadpan look. It was then that she reflected on what she just said and laughed nervously._

_ "Um, sorry. I'm used to hearing shunpo when people talk about speed, so I associate 'hohō' with a human snack food. It's a little chocolate pastry thing with cream in it."_

_ He remained silent at the explanation. Processing information..._

_ "How much do you know about each of the four shinigami combat skills?"_

_ Of course he'd disregard the sweets. Che. Kazoku bit her lip while trying to remember the names of each skill._

_ "Hohō is speed, kido is channeling and manipulating one's spiritual power in order to cast spells, sometimes accompanied by incantations, zanjutsu is swordsmanship and I can't remember the name of the fourth... But it's basically hand to hand combat."_

_ "Hakuda."_

_ "That's it, I knew it had a 'ha' sound..."_

_ Toushiro mulled over this information, wondering just how she knew so much about abilities of the shinigami. In response to his silent questions, she laughed nervously again._

_ "Don't ask questions, Hitsugaya-taicho, and I won't have to lie to you."_

_ He decided to comply, because as beneficial to his observations the answers would be, he wasn't sure he wanted to delve into the mind of the little spaz. Instead he gestured for her to stand at one side of the large room._

_ "I want you to try using shunpo. All you need to do is to move as far as you can in one step."_

_ Kazoku frowned. "That's it? No timing or speed recording or anything?"_

_ "Have you done this before?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Then I don't expect you to be able to do it now." He replied, looking at her with a 'what a child' smirk on his young face. "You increase your speed with constant training, not natural talent. So attempt to complete a successful flash step first, and then set to refining it."_

_ Kazoku gave a mocking bow. "Then teach me how, Hitsugaya-sensei. Because unless you want me launching myself off the wall, I won't be getting anywhere today."_

_ And so he stood beside her and explained how to channel reiatsu to the soles of her feet, going on to explain how one would control the direction in which they were flash stepping and warning her of the nausea she might experience afterward. He even demonstrated once or twice, though the whole point of shunpo was to move too quickly for the eye to follow so it didn't help much. _

_ When she was sure she could get it right, she took her place at one end of the room. "Count off for me, 'kay?" She said as she readied herself. She heard the numbers count off and did the best she could to focus her reiatsu in her feet._

_ Let's just say that, judging by the lovely introduction of Kazoku's front to the wall and then her back to the floor after a rather explosive step, Kazoku didn't quite get shunpo yet._

_ "You forced too much energy into your step."_

_ "Thank you Obvious-taicho, for pointing that out. The impact on the wall wasn't that much of a-" Kazoku stopped mid-sentence, mortified. Quicker that one should after such a harsh landing, Kazoku threw herself to her feet and stood in front of where she had hit the wall, arms crossed over her chest with a pinched expression._

_ "Karasukami, what are you doing?"_

_ "Nothing."_

_ "Step away from the wall then."_

_ "Uh Uh. You'll laugh at me."_

_ "Move Karasukami. I won't tell you again."_

_ Her face bright crimson, she took a timid step away from the wall, and then another. Craning his head to see around her, he found two distinct circular indents in the wall where she had collided with it, it seemed, chest-first._

_ "You should like, destroy this wall. Or do something to get rid of this." She muttered, not meeting his eyes. He looked from her to the wall, torn between amazement (were those things made of steel?) and irritation. Deciding that this was as good a time as any to teach the girl who gave orders, he took on an indifferent expression._

_ "We're going outside." He announced and gestured for her to follow him to the door. She looked up in horror._

_ "You aren't going to do anything about the wall?"_

_ "I'll notify someone to repair it after your assessment is over. It's too dangerous to keep you within four walls until you learn to channel your reiatsu correctly."_

_ "B-but... You can't just leave this here!" She gestured wildly at the indents._

_ "We're going, Karasukami."_

_ After a few moments of rapid flailing and protests, she grudgingly followed the small captain out onto the fields. He ordered a group of officers to move their training elsewhere and took up a position across from her._

_ "Have you ever had any instruction in any form of hakuda?" The young captain asked,_

_ "Just assume that I know nothing Toushi-taicho." She answered with a shrug. Hitsugaya quirked an eyebrow._

_ Kazoku loosed a screech and threw herself backwards to avoid a sudden harsh jab to the gut, rolling to the side when she hit the ground and jumping to her feet. She quickly put distance between herself and Toushiro._

_ "That coulda really hurt ya know." She frowned._

_ He didn't answer and disappeared in a rustle of shunpo. Her eyes flew wide and she looked around rapidly only to come face to face with the captain. Letting out another yelp, she jumped backwards. A whisper and a step later, the same captain stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder._

_ "I think I've seen enough."_

_ He walked back to the building they had come from and returned with two bokken. In that time, Kazoku had gathered her thoughts and she was fuming._

_ "What the heck was that? You didn't teach me anything about hakuda, you just chased me around!"_

_ "This first day is an assessment. Your true training won't start until tomorrow, when I've pinpointed where you need to begin. And I've seen enough to know where to start as far as your hakuda skills are concerned." He tossed her a bokken and she caught it, twirling it so as not to drop it. He didn't fail to note the wide grin that broke out on her face._

_ "This I can get used to." She murmured as she slashed at the air. She spun the blade to point downward to tuck it into an imaginary sheath, only to 'draw' it again and stabbing in Hitsugaya's direction. Her enthusiasm wasn't lost on Toushiro, and he planned to take advantage of it._

_ The clash of the wooden weapons brought Kazoku's attention to the young captain. "It's rude to attack a person when their back is turned ya know." She grinned, though her arms shook with the effort to keep Hitsugaya from striking the blade right out of her hand. He definitely had too much strength for his small frame._

_ "You cheater!" Kazoku accused as she pushed back and slashed at him, only to be blocked and nearly disarmed._

_ "How am I cheating?" The captain smirked, not seeming offended at all. Zanjutsu was definitely where this girl would find her strength. Her footing was a little off, but she stayed low and naturally adjusted to the blade being an extension of herself. Unlike the crazed men of the Eleventh Division, she hung back when needed and didn't swing wildly. Instead she remained cautious and stayed on her toes. Her stabs could use a bit of work though; they left her wide open for a hilt to the spine. At one point she tried using shunpo to move around him, but ended up launching herself out of the fields and through the roof of the barracks, which both demonstrated the amount of force she had used to put dents in the wall of the training room and marked the end of her zanjutsu assessment._

_ "Karasukami, are you aware of the definition of insanity besides an instability of the mind?"_

_ "According to some quote my mom taught me, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, why?" Kazoku coughed, dusting herself off. After two beats she scowled. "You're a jerk. Where did you hear that anyway?"_

_ "It doesn't matter." He led her to a group of targets lined up in a row._

_ "Kido?" She questioned and earned a nod in affirmation. "Okay, well, you'll have to help me out here again then, because I don't wanna blast myself through another roof..."_

_ "If you do, I might be forced to make you fix it yourself."_

_ "How rude!"_

_ And so he went over the channeling of reiatsu again, demonstrating a low level hado spell and directing her to mimic it. She botched the first attempt, then the second, and then the third. Each time her hands suffered minor burns, but still she tried._

_ "Focus your reiatsu in the center of your palm and concentrate on-"_

_ "Will you shut up!" Kazoku yelled, whirling on her heel and throwing an arm out in distress. "I'm doing my best!"_

_ Her reiatsu fluctuated dangerously in her frustration and Toushiro's eyes augmented when a blast of raw blue energy flew from her palm in an off direction, heading directly toward a group of division members sparring nearby. In the split second it took for him to register that his subordinates were in danger, Kazoku launched herself after the blast with her faulty shunpo and collided with the crackling orb before it could reach the group. As she curled around it her reiatsu fanned out, making the ground shake beneath Hitsugaya's feet. Several seconds passed in silence only broken by the crackling of electricity-like energy before it dissipated in her arms and she fell with an 'oof' on her stomach._

_ "Karasukami-chan!"_

_ Matsumoto appeared at Kazoku's side and helped the girl sit up, carefully looking for burns or injury. To her surprise, she saw none._

_ "Ow, ow, ow, ow, oooooowwww..." Kazoku hissed when she moved. "Karasukami-chan, don't move so suddenly." Rangiku chided. Toushiro approached cautiously as if he was expecting her to spontaneously combust._

_ "...How did you stop that blast?" He asked. Matsumoto turned on him angrily._

_ "Taicho!" She exclaimed incredulously. "She could be seriously hurt! How could you be so insensi-"_

_ "...A box."_

_ Both commanding officers looked down at the young ryoka girl, who was trying to stand up now._

_ "I made a box around the ball." She repeated, holding her arms out to balance herself. "I curled up, imagined a box, and it was just kinda... There. Around the ball. And then the ball went bah!" She flicked her fingers. "And then the box went puh." She pursed her lips and emphasized the 'puh'._

_ There was a collective silence. Then..._

_ "Matsumoto, summon a medic from the Fourth. Karasukami is in need of a psychological evaluation."_

Though she felt like she had failed considerably during her assessment, the experience was an enjoyable one despite being carted off to the Fourth to ensure that her misfire during her kido evaluation did no permanent damage.

Now, Kazoku looked down at her shihakusho, then at the human clothes she had left on the couch. The former was ready for a good cleaning, given the dirt and sweat that now clung to it as a result of her training moving outside. The latter had already been worn for two days, and she felt disgusted at the prospect of wearing the same underwear for three days straight. She looked at the young captain, then down at the ground.

She couldn't possibly ask Hitsugaya Toushiro to get her new clothes.

But given the situation, she couldn't keep wearing the same thing over and over again either. Asking Rangiku would result in a day long shopping trip at Toushiro's expense, and she really didn't need him more aggravated at her. Plus, Rangiku was still out of the office. Kazoku looked back and forth from her clothes to the captain, trying to make a decision.

Finally she sighed. Forget the awkwardness that might occur. Things were only awkward if you made them awkward, so maybe this wouldn't be so horrifying as long as she stayed calm about it.

"Toushi-taicho?" She said in a sweet voice. Said captain's eyebrow twitched. "It's Hitsugaya-taicho." He said sternly and looked up. "What do you want?"

"Actually, it's not really a matter of what I want... More like need." Kazoku said, rubbing one arm nervously.

"... What do you need?"

She sighed and held up fingers as she began counting off the list. This was one of those times where she wished she had gone with the Kuchiki instead. But she guessed it couldn't be helped.

"Clothes. Specifically underwear, bras or something to bind my chest during training, and spare uniforms. A yukata or two would be nice to lounge in too." She began, noting the the look on Toushiro's face. Well too bad if this was bothering him. He was in charge of her and unless he wanted to face the consequences, she'd need this stuff sooner or later.

"I also need toiletries. Toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, regular bar soap, deodorant, and sooner or later I'll need pads and tampons." She ignored the spluttering from the flustered captain as she continued, abandoning her hand counting when she ran out of fingers. Really, hadn't he gotten used to this kind of stuff being around Rangiku? Or maybe the lieutenant ditched work when she was having supposed crippling pains due to her cycle. So dealing with a female on such personal matters was something new for the little captain... She almost felt sorry for the boy.

"Face wash would be good too, but not a necessity. Ties for my hair and sleeves so neither are getting in my way, and maybe an actual place to stay since I won't be able to move if I keep sleeping on that couch... I need a place to shower too, because this is just gross." She ran a hand through her tangled curls damp with sweat and frowned at the oily feel of the brown locks.

"W-Well..." Toushiro didn't seem to know how to answer. His options were few; either he take the girl shopping himself and face several embarrassing hours of carrying bags while Kazoku picked her... Feminine products out, or risk an empty wallet by turning her over to Rangiku. Neither sounded appealing to him.

Kazoku walked over and sat herself down on the edge of the captain's desk. "Personally, I'd rather you took me shopping." She said. Despite his obvious discomfort dealing with the subject, this was going rather well. There wasn't any excuses not to go from him yet, only a face colored bright red in embarrassment.

"I'm not one for overspending on flashy clothes, so I don't think things would go smoothly if I went with Matsu-san. I'd much rather go in, get the necessities, and get out. No side trips or anything ridiculous." She said, twirling her blue curl. "I really just don't want to smell like Omaeda-fukutaicho." She clapped her hands together. "I promise no funny business and you won't have to go to the checkout counter to pay for the tampons or anything, I can do that myself."

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "...I don't have a choice in this, do I?" He muttered, more to himself than her.

"Of course you do. But that choice will determine the future cleanliness of your office." She held up a hand, which had dirt along the crevices of her skin in her palm and fingers. "So, given your character, your answer is already set."

* * *

Kazoku: Hiiii! -waves- So! This little segment will be a lot like the Arrancar Encyclopedia hosted by Ichimaru Gin. Only this gives information on me and Umino-nee-chan and little tidbits you might want to know in the future.

Umino: -adjusts glasses- The first official segment will begin in our next chapter. Feel free to leave suggestions in the reviews on what you'd like to know, and we'll see what we can do.

Kazoku: Mhm! Our first subject has already been chosen based on a review we got, so thank you much to our reviewer-

Umino: They can wait until the next chapter.

Kazoku: Fine... -pouts- Toushi-taicho's shopping trip with me is coming up in the next chapter! Also, bonding between Umi-nee-chan and Kuchiki Rukia!


End file.
